Check these first
- Find the age and condition of your current furnace and central AC
- Look at a year of gas and electric bills to see what you actually use
- Note drafty rooms or poor insulation that would affect any system
- Check whether your ductwork reaches every room you want heated
Call us when
- Your AC is near the end of its life and you're weighing a heat pump in its place
- You want a load calculation instead of a rule-of-thumb size
- You're comparing written quotes and want the options side by side
- Your current furnace needs a repair and you want both numbers first
The short version
Heat pumps have come a long way. The cold-climate models sold today can keep heating a house when it’s well below freezing outside, which the older ones couldn’t do well. But a Lake County winter still has stretches of single digits and below, and every heat pump puts out less heat as the outdoor temperature drops.
So for most homes around Munster, the practical question isn’t heat pump versus furnace. It’s whether a heat pump paired with a gas furnace makes sense for your house.
How a heat pump heats
A heat pump is an air conditioner that can run in reverse. In summer, it moves heat out of your house. In winter, it pulls heat out of the outdoor air and moves it inside. It doesn’t burn anything, so it doesn’t make heat so much as move it.
That’s why it can be efficient. It’s also why it has limits. The colder the outside air, the less heat there is to move and the harder the equipment works. At some point, it needs help.
The three setups we see
Gas furnace with central AC
This is still what most houses around here have. A gas furnace puts out strong, steady heat no matter how cold it gets outside, and natural gas service is available in most of our area. If your furnace is in good shape, keeping it is a perfectly reasonable choice.
Dual fuel: heat pump plus gas furnace
A heat pump replaces the outdoor AC unit, and your gas furnace stays as the backup. The system uses the heat pump in milder weather, which covers a lot of the fall and spring, and switches to the furnace when it gets cold enough that gas makes more sense. You get cooling in summer from the same heat pump.
For Northwest Indiana, this is often the most sensible middle ground. You aren’t counting on the heat pump alone during a cold snap, and you aren’t burning gas on 45-degree days.
Heat pump only, with electric backup
An all-electric setup uses the heat pump most of the time and electric resistance heat strips as backup. It can work, especially in tight, well-insulated homes or where gas isn’t available. The trade-off is that electric strip heat is expensive to run, and on the coldest nights it may run a lot. We’ll tell you straight if we think your house is a good fit or not.
What decides it for your house
- Your current equipment. If the AC is old and the furnace is healthy, swapping the AC for a heat pump and keeping the furnace is often the simple move. If both are failing, the options widen.
- Your ductwork. Heat pumps deliver air that feels less hot at the vent than a gas furnace does. Leaky or undersized ducts make that more noticeable.
- Insulation and air sealing. A drafty older bungalow will lean harder on backup heat than a newer, tighter home in Dyer or St. John.
- Energy prices. The math depends on your gas and electric rates. Those change, so we compare using your own bills rather than a brochure.
- Proper sizing. A load calculation, not a guess based on square footage, tells us how much heat the house really needs.
What it feels like to live with
Numbers aside, comfort matters. A gas furnace sends out air that feels noticeably hot at the register, in bursts. A heat pump sends out air that’s warm but not hot, and runs longer, steadier cycles. Some people love the even heat. Others miss the blast of a furnace on a cold morning. With dual fuel, you get a bit of both.
Heat pumps also run a defrost cycle in winter. On frosty mornings, the outdoor unit will now and then pause, melt the ice off its coil and restart. You may see steam. That’s normal, not a breakdown.
Questions to ask any contractor
- Did you do a load calculation, or size it by square footage?
- At what outdoor temperature does the system switch to backup heat, and can we adjust it?
- Is this model ENERGY STAR certified, and is it rated for cold climates?
- Will my existing furnace work with it, and what has to change?
- Can I see the repair option for my current system on the same sheet?
If a company can’t answer those plainly, keep looking.
Rebates and credits, honestly
There are federal and utility programs that have supported heat pumps, and the details change. We’re not going to quote you a rebate number we can’t verify. Check ENERGY STAR for current qualifying equipment and NIPSCO for local programs, both linked below. When we quote, we’ll note which models are ENERGY STAR certified so you can check eligibility yourself.
Our approach
Same as always. If your furnace needs a repair, you get the repair price first. Age alone doesn’t mean it has to go. If you’re thinking about a heat pump, we’ll lay out the options on paper: keep what you have, add a heat pump as a dual-fuel setup, or replace. Our techs aren’t on commission, so there’s no push toward the biggest ticket.
If your furnace is getting up there, read how long a furnace lasts in Northwest Indiana and is it worth fixing a 15-year-old furnace. For installs and service, see our heat pumps page or furnace replacement. Heat out right now? Furnace repair in Schererville and every other town in our service area is a phone call away at (219) 555-0142.
More questions
Will a heat pump work when it's below zero?
Many cold-climate models keep producing heat well below freezing, but their output drops as it gets colder. That's why most homes here keep a backup, usually a gas furnace, for the coldest stretches.
Do I have to replace my furnace to get a heat pump?
Not always. If your furnace is in good shape and compatible, a heat pump can sometimes be added in place of the AC and paired with it. We check compatibility before quoting.
Are there rebates or tax credits for heat pumps?
Programs exist and they change. Check ENERGY STAR and NIPSCO for what's current, and ask us which qualifying models fit your house. We won't quote a rebate amount we can't back up.
Sources: ENERGY STAR · U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver · NIPSCO
