Pennsylvania Heating

Heat pump vs furnace in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

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Which costs less to run in Westmoreland County?

A gray outdoor condenser unit on a concrete pad beside a dark blue horizontal lap-sided wall at night, lit by an overhead light, with a small electrical disconnect box on the wall and mulch surrounding the pad.

Heat pump

To heat your home here$2.37per 100,000 Btu

A beige residential furnace stands on a concrete basement floor against a dark blue painted wall, with galvanized metal ductwork and a flue pipe rising from its top and white pipes running along its right side.

Furnace

To heat your home here$1.64per 100,000 Btu

At Pennsylvania's gas and electricity prices, a gas furnace makes the same heat as a heat pump for at least 30% less.

Btu stands for British thermal unit, the standard measure of heat energy.

Where does a heat pump shine?

  • No gas line, nothing burning in the house

    There's no gas line to the unit and no flame anywhere in it. Carbon monoxide isn't part of the picture.

    A kitchen with navy blue cabinets, a white marble-look island with a black induction cooktop and stainless steel kettle, a stainless refrigerator, a farmhouse sink under a window with a blue roman shade, and potted greenery with a blue mug on a wooden board.

  • Heats and cools in one system

    A heat pump runs the same way all year. It pulls heat into the house in winter and pushes it out in summer.

    A beige sofa with a navy cushion and light blue knit throw sits beside a large window overlooking a green garden, with a wooden coffee table holding a mug, bowl and vase of flowers, and navy built-in shelving with stone wall at right.

  • Steady, even comfort

    Instead of short bursts of heat, it keeps a gentle, steady output going. The house stays at one comfortable temperature.

    A dimly lit living room with dark blue built-in bookshelves, a navy armchair with a gray throw blanket and open book, a lit table lamp and mug on a wooden side table, a window seat with a blue cushion, and a golden-colored dog sleeping on a patterned rug.

Where does a furnace shine?

  • Runs on the gas most homes here already use

    Most homes in Westmoreland County already have gas line run to the house, since 65.3% of homes here heat with utility gas. If yours is one of them, a gas furnace just uses what's already hooked up.

    A dark blue clapboard house with white porch steps and railings beside a snow-covered sidewalk, with similar houses receding along the street and a gas meter with pipes on the foundation wall.

  • Pairs with any central AC

    Most central air systems are built around a furnace. The two share the blower, the ducts and the thermostat.

    A dark metal floor vent set into a hardwood floor near a window with a sheer white curtain, a blue cabinet and a blue fringed rug at the edges of the frame.

  • Fast, strong heat on demand

    The air coming from the vents feels genuinely hot. That's welcome on a freezing morning.

    Entryway with a navy paneled door, snow-dusted winter boots on a wood floor, a floor air vent, a sheer white curtain, a navy built-in bench with a plaid throw and a steaming light blue mug, and coats hanging at upper right.

The cold nights decide this

Winter here is long and it bites. Heat runs about eight months a year, October through May, and the overnight low averages 23°F across December, January and February. More than half the nights in that stretch, about 130 of them, drop to freezing or below. That is the number this choice turns on.

A standard heat pump starts losing ground before it even gets that cold. Below 40°F its heat output falls short of what it is rated for. Below about 35°F it typically needs backup heat to keep up. Every single one of those 130 freezing nights here falls under both marks. This is not a rare cold snap you plan around once a year. It is most of the winter.

A gas furnace does not have this problem. It burns gas and makes its full heat regardless of how cold it is outside. On the coldest night of the year it performs the same as it does in October.

None of this means a heat pump will leave you cold. It means a heat pump built to the federal minimum will lean hard on backup heat for most of the winter here, and that backup heat is usually electric resistance, the most expensive way to heat a house. If you want a heat pump as your only heat source, the one to look at is a cold climate model. To earn the ENERGY STAR Cold Climate label, it has to keep at least 70 percent of its 47°F heating capacity at 5°F, verified by outside testing. Field tests of these units in occupied homes back this up: backup heat covered only a small share of the heat needed between 0°F and 35°F, and running on backup alone was rare even above 0°F. A standard heat pump and a cold climate heat pump are different machines here.

A two-story navy blue clapboard house with white trim, a white chimney, a light blue front door with a wreath, and a snow-covered roof, behind a snowy yard with a stone retaining wall and bare trees.

What it costs to run, and what your house already has

Set the cold aside and look at the fuel bill. At Pennsylvania's average prices, a gas furnace makes 100,000 Btu of heat for $1.64. A heat pump, figured the same way with nothing added for backup heat, costs $2.37. An oil furnace costs $3.03, the most of the three. If your house already has a gas line, gas is the cheapest heat you can buy here, and it is not close.

That matters in Westmoreland County specifically because most houses already have that gas line. Utility gas heats 65.3% of occupied homes here, about two in three. Electricity heats 16.9%, fuel oil 12.3%. If your furnace runs on gas now, a new gas furnace costs less to run than a heat pump would, and you are not pulling a gas line out that is already paid for.

If your house heats with oil, the comparison looks different. A heat pump beats an oil furnace on running cost, $2.37 against $3.03 per 100,000 Btu, and it adds central air conditioning too, which an oil furnace does not. A furnace only heats. For the four months a year it is not needed, June through August, it does nothing, while a heat pump runs your cooling the rest of the year on the same equipment.

So the honest answer depends on what you are replacing. Coming from gas, a new furnace keeps your cheaper fuel and your existing line. Coming from oil, a heat pump costs less to run and covers your summers too, as long as it is a cold climate model that can actually carry a Westmoreland County winter on its own.

Sources: NOAA nClimDiv · NOAA 1991–2020 seasonal normals · Census ACS 2020–2024 · EIA SEDS 2024 · 10 CFR 430.32 · PNNL Building America guide · PNNL-37127 field study · ENERGY STAR product criteria

Snow-covered stone steps lead to a white storm door on a blue clapboard house, with a stacked woodpile, a snowy shrub, and a dry-stone wall alongside.

Common questions about heat pumps and furnaces

  • Can a heat pump heat a house through a Pennsylvania winter?

    It can, but a standard heat pump struggles on the coldest nights here. Below 40°F its heat output drops under its rated capacity, and below about 35°F it often needs backup heat. The overnight low here averages 23°F across December through February, and over half the nights heat runs fall at or below freezing, so a standard heat pump spends a lot of the season below both marks. A cold-climate model, rated to hold at least 70 percent of its capacity at 5°F, handles those nights with less help.

  • Do I need backup heat with a heat pump here?

    With a standard heat pump, yes. Its output falls short of its rating below 40°F and it often needs help below about 35°F, and the winter low here averages 23°F. A heat pump carrying the ENERGY STAR Cold Climate mark needs less of it, built to hold most of its capacity down to 5°F, though field tests show even these lean on backup heat on the coldest nights.

  • Can I keep my furnace and add a heat pump?

    Yes, and here that often means the furnace becomes backup heat. Your winter low averages 23°F, and a standard heat pump's output falls short of its rating below 40°F and often needs backup below about 35°F. A furnace already in the house can cover those nights while the heat pump handles the milder ones.

  • Is a heat pump cheaper to run than a furnace in Westmoreland County?

    No, not here. A furnace makes 100,000 Btu of heat for $1.64 at Pennsylvania's gas prices, against $2.37 for a heat pump at federal minimum efficiency. Gas heats about two in three homes in Westmoreland County, and that's the fuel behind the furnace's number.

A person's hand in a blue shirt adjusts a round black and silver wall thermostat on a white wall, with an open tool bag on the floor and a living room with a gray sectional sofa in the background.

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