Advice needed:Time to replace my natural gas furnace. Should I get a heat pump instead?

[albacore]

I live in Kitsap county.... 1200 sq ft, one story home.
I have gas water heater and fireplace.
Before I call a dealer, I thought I'd look for some DUers with experience and/or expertise.

[WhiteTara]

1. yes you should

there are rebates and tax credits for them as well. If you can find out how to work with the program, please give a shout out to all of us who want this too and can't figure it out.

[gladium et scutum]

2. It's a good option

Heat pumps work well in moderate cimes. Washington State's weather is fairly moderate. Heat pumps should do well. For the most efficient operation, conisder an inground heat exchange heat pump

[keithbvadu2]

3. Ask at least a dozen people in your city who have done it.

You'll get local, first-hand experience.

[fierywoman]

4. My utility company (I'm in King County) has had offers these past few months re aid

for energy equipment -- maybe your utility company has something similar?

[Deuxcents]

5. Yes. Watch what Biden is trying to do..

And if he’s successful, he’s offering tax rebates for heat pumps. My house is 1200 sq ft n I have a heat pump..we don’t call it that here but I hope I never have to live w/o one. A/c n heat from the same unit installed outside of the home. Safe n efficient

[Timewas]

6. Absolutely

Have had ours in for about 7 years now and it has more than paid for itself... And if you shop around and do some research you can get one almost free.

[RainCaster]

7. I live near you

3k Sq foot, 3 floors. Replaced gas furnace with heat pump last summer. We still have a propane water heater and gas fireplace. It works well, but our propane expense is bigger than we thought it would be.

[FuzzyRabbit]

8. Yes, go ahead and get one.

I live across the sound from you.

I moved here 6 years ago and my house has one. I lived at my old place in Seattle for decades and payed $150 - 200 per month to heat in the winter with electricity. I also suffered the hot days of summer with no air conditioning. I would not live without a heat pump now.

My biggest utility bill this winter was $145, for electricity and water combined. Summer bills are about $85 for water and electricity. My heat pump doesn't cost very much to cool the house.

They are expensive, but you only live once. You might as well live comfortably year round.

[PortTack]

9. The biggest cost for heat pumps is the installation...this YouTube clip shows a new design that is

Now available that doesn’t cost 10k for installation. If I had not just put in a brand new hot water boiler just a few years ago, I would be considering it.

This is just one of many being manufactured

[Tortue]

10. DIY'er installed. Love it!

Last year I installed a 3 zone, 30k btu Mitsubishi Hyperheat model in my 1k sq/ft home in Seattle.
Ordered everything from a company called Younits out of Illinois.
Contractor and I calculated the size/needs and I installed it. If you're somewhat mechanically/electrically inclined, you can save a ton of $ from the crazy installation costs.
I removed the old oil furnace and built all new sheet metal supply/return plenums, filter box and tie-ins for a ducted mini-split unit, all by my little old self. Took about 10 days total, and I'm pretty much a one-armed guy (due to some nerve damage).
I'm now paying about 1/4 of the cost of previous oil heat, and I also have awesome A/C!
The controls are local and also automated through a Home Assistant/rPi server.
Mechanical/Electrical permitting was straight forward and not too expensive.
I took an online EPA rule 608 course so that I can buy/handle refrigerants legally.
I saved approximately 50% of the quoted costs and also now have a full set of tools for future maintenance.
I'm 64 with a mechanical and electrical work history.
Total cost including contractor's fee, permits, HVAC tools and supplies - $7.5k.
My neighbor just spent $16k for essentially the same system, installed by three guys in one 8 hour day.
$9k for a one day installation!!

[Scrivener7]

11. I have to say, you sound like you have mad skills. But even the 16K price to

cut your bills down to a quarter for those "all thumbs" people among us would pay for itself within a few years.

These things sound miraculous.

I'm in a co-op apartment building. Looking forward to when they design systems appropriate for us.

[MOMFUDSKI]

12. I remember reading

some years back that a heat pump was most efficient in the mid-latitudes of the U.S. I am in Florida so we have a normal A/C unit and a heat strip for the times we need heat in the winter. Many neighbors here have the standard heat pump and they RUN and RUN trying to capture heat in winter. In Milwaukee we had a standard gas, forced-air system. You may be able to talk to your local Electric Company for info on efficiency of the 2 options. Wishing you well on your final choice.

[Tortue]

14. Heat pump vs Mini-split

Spent a few weeks in Wengen, Switzerland a few years ago. Mitsubishi's and Fujitsu's were very popular for heating... in the Alps.
Mitsubishi Hyperheat models are 100% efficient down to 0 degrees F.
75% at -15 degrees. Plenty of headroom for my sometimes cold and increasingly hotter climate in Seattle.
Inverter based compressor driven by an algorithm that "learns" the most efficient method of heating/cooling your space.
Plenty of info online...
This isn't the old noisy heat-pump technology from the '80's.
Good luck!

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

13. My neighbors on both sides of me have them.

Their house is about the same size as yours.

I may get one too but I have other projects I want done first.