We just went through the same decision. The heat pump will not produce the same level of heat that gas or propane will, but it far more economical to use. Some people love the heat of a gas/propane furnace, but I don't like an overly warm house and tend to prefer a cooler house, even in the winter. I have a heat pump set-up with back-up electric heat now and love it. The air-conditioning the heat pump provides is excellent and that was important to me. So we decided to go with the whole-house heat pump and use an electric furnance as our extreme temperature back-up. It used to be that heat pumps only worked well in temps at 40 degrees or above, but the new generation of hp's can function very well down to about zero. We also have gas fireplaces and will use propane in those, but love our current set up and decided not to use a propane furnace as a back-up heating system in the new house.

I have a gas pack now (on propane), but if this one ever goes out I will use a geo-thermal heat pump with gas back up instead of electric heat strip back up.

We are hoping to start in a couple weeks (waiting on loan approval). I've looked at geo-thermal (too expensive ~$65K), ac unit with propane furnace (cheaper ~$18K, but like you I'm not too optimistic about future propane gas cost) and so decided to go with a 'hybrid' or dual-fuel heat pump system with propane as backup heat (~$23K).

I pulled a propane gas pack outside our current house a couple of years ago and replaced it with an air source heat pump. It was one of the smartest decisions I have ever made. Our heating bill was cut by a factor of three. Yes you read that right, to heat our house with a heat pump, we pay approximately 1/3 of what we paid with propane.

The air from our registers is hot, not warm, unless it is very cold out. In that case, we tough it a little bit.

Disclaimer: We only have 5KW worth of heat strip. We should have about 15 KW, but it would have cost a fortune to run the power for that, due to a number of factors, so some of our savings are "forced." Still, even on the coldest of days, it doesn't get below 64F inside, so it's not much of a hardship.

We are in E. Tennessee.

Our new house will NOT have propane.

Has anyone used a Hallowell air-source heat pump in a northern climate? It is a Maine-based company.

BTW, 64 in winter sounds heavenly to me....

Have heat pump with gas furnace back up. It's the most comfortable I've ever been! (DH is an HVAC tech...)

Natural gas or propane backup, nycefarm? Having propane for limited use still requires the tank, owned or rented, expensive fuel, and possible annual minimum purchases if the the tank is rented.

NY state is a heck of a lot colder than Tennessee, so your experience may not be directly applicable.

Dual fuel units are also quite a bit more expensive.

I heard from a local HVAC guy that the dual fuel is very economical. It uses the electric pump until the temperature you decide to set it at is reached (usually 32º) then the propane kicks in. The theory is that at colder temps the auxillary heat kicks in on the electric heat pump and is much more costly. Also the propane feels warmer. Worth looking into. I don't know if it's the same as a propane "backup" system or not.

Anyone know what the cost might be to heat an old 1300 sq ft. house with propane in SC (mild winters)? I am disappointed to find a house I am planning to buy doesn't have dual fuel after all.