Heat pump vs Furnace in Kanawha County, West Virginia
When a heat pump makes sense
If you want cooling as well as heating from one system, a heat pump gives you both. Look at a cold-climate model, since winter nights here average 27°F and standard heat pumps lose heating power at those temperatures. Expect to pay more to run it than a gas furnace, since gas heat costs at least 10% less here.
When a furnace makes sense
If your home already has a gas line, a furnace is the cheaper machine to run, costing at least 10% less than a heat pump at local electricity and gas prices. It has to work through about 7 months of heating a year here, including nights near 27°F, and a furnace holds its output regardless of how cold it gets outside. It heats only, so you would need a separate system for cooling.
When a heat pump makes sense
If you want cooling as well as heating from one system, a heat pump gives you both. Look at a cold-climate model, since winter nights here average 27°F and standard heat pumps lose heating power at those temperatures. Expect to pay more to run it than a gas furnace, since gas heat costs at least 10% less here.
When a furnace makes sense
If your home already has a gas line, a furnace is the cheaper machine to run, costing at least 10% less than a heat pump at local electricity and gas prices. It has to work through about 7 months of heating a year here, including nights near 27°F, and a furnace holds its output regardless of how cold it gets outside. It heats only, so you would need a separate system for cooling.
Heat pump
- Runs on
- Electricity
- What it does
- Heats and cools
- Tax credit
- No federal tax credit since the end of 2025
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy · Internal Revenue Code
Furnace
- Runs on
- Natural gas
- What it does
- Heats only
- Tax credit
- No federal tax credit since the end of 2025
Sources: U.S. Department of Energy · Internal Revenue Code
Furnace wins in Kanawha County.
More than half the homes in Kanawha County already heat with gas, and gas costs less to run here than a heat pump.
If your home has no gas line to it, a cold-climate heat pump will still heat it through those 27-degree nights, and you get cooling from the same system.
Find a contractor| Compared on | Heat pump | Furnace |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to run here | Costs more to run | At least 10% less to run |
| What it does | Heats and cools | Heats only |
| Homes in the South Atlantic states that heat with one | 30.1% | 48% |
| Handles a 27°F night | Standard models lose heating power in the cold; cold-climate models are built for it | Yes |
Sources: U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy, NOAA
When a heat pump makes sense
If you want cooling as well as heating from one system, a heat pump gives you both. Look at a cold-climate model, since winter nights here average 27°F and standard heat pumps lose heating power at those temperatures. Expect to pay more to run it than a gas furnace, since gas heat costs at least 10% less here.
When a furnace makes sense
If your home already has a gas line, a furnace is the cheaper machine to run, costing at least 10% less than a heat pump at local electricity and gas prices. It has to work through about 7 months of heating a year here, including nights near 27°F, and a furnace holds its output regardless of how cold it gets outside. It heats only, so you would need a separate system for cooling.
A Kanawha County contractor will price both against your own house, your ductwork and your panel.
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