What is a Dual Fuel System?
We have written articles about heat pumps that included information on dual fuel systems, but we decided to dig a little deeper for our customers with rising energy costs. Let’s get to it!
What do we mean when we say, ‘dual fuel’? A dual fuel system is pairing a heat pump outdoor unit with a gas furnace inside the home. The heat pump will serve as the primary heating and cooling source for the home as it provides both. The gas furnace will kick in when temperatures drop and the heat pump is outside of its efficiency range and can’t keep up.
Electric Back Up Heat is Expensive
To explain how this saves energy, we need to give some attention to a standard electric heat pump system. These systems pair a heat pump outdoor unit with an electric air handler inside that is used for back-up heat. These units heat with straight electric coils ranging from 5kw to 20kw on average. That’s a lot of electricity being used to heat the home when your heat pump can’t keep up! The downside is that most homeowners don’t notice this back-up heat is running until they get their electric bill and see the additional usage.
Now it should be clear how that gas furnace back-up can be beneficial. These systems are great for those who want to keep costs down but ensure comfort in colder weather. If anything goes wrong with the heat pump and you have a long wait time before a heating contractor can get to you, that gas furnace is less expensive to run.
All Electric Systems Strain the Power Grid
Recently at a dealer meeting we attended, a woman from an electric utility board was discussing the electric grid over the next decade. The electrification movement is encouraging people to switch to electric vehicles, electric appliances, and to ditch their gas entirely. We won’t be discussing the fossil fuel debate, or how electricity isn’t immune from using said fossil fuels here. She did, however, show compelling research stating that by 2030, we will not be able to sustain the power grid at the current electrification growth rate. Studies suggest the need for brown outs or scheduled outages if we stay on this trend. In fact, she suggested to us that we start selling more dual fuel systems to offset this extra load during peak heating months.
In some cases, homeowners can save money by simply adding a heat pump to their existing gas furnace. No added expense of tearing out their entire gas system to go all electric. This also gives homeowners a unique level of control over their energy use. If electric bills rise in the winter, a dual fuel system will allow anyone to switch from the heat pump to the gas furnace to warm their home.
Those handy whole-house generators that are becoming more popular? There is less power usage needed if you heat with a gas furnace vs. having to factor in 15kw during a power outage if your system needs to use the auxiliary heat.
If you’re thinking about a new system or even just adding air conditioning to your existing gas furnace, ask your contractor to quote you a dual fuel system or a heat pump add-on. It really is the best of both worlds!
