NC, 50 year old two story house with unfinished basement. Insulation is spotty. New windows all around, added air vents on the roof peaks. Exterior has wood siding with brick facing added 30 years ago. Basically a square house, the upstairs rooms are in a T formation with the roof double peaked.

Oil furnace for first floor, 1300sqft, ductwork in basement which is unfinished clay floor, Window AC. Very little insulation except for partial ceilings(blown) and bathrooms which are well insulated during remodels.


Second floor 800+Sqft - no ductwork, unheated. Insulation on side walls but nothing on ceiling.

I also have a wood stove w/blower and run it normally during cold parts of winter. Keeps the oil bill down and is very warm except for far side of house.

Want to ditch oil furnace, go with heat pumps. Thinking of maybe adding gas for backup heat, not sure yet.

Looking at 2.5 ton HP for first floor and 1.5-2 for second floor. Guy is trying to sell me ductless for upstairs with two units, are these as good as running ducts and a standard heat pump? A friend recommended getting a "gas pack." for the down stairs. Not sure what he means unless it is a "dual system" I have been reading about. I guess I want the heat pump for heating and cooling but, I think I may need something else for when it gets cold. Wood stove would keep the downstairs pretty warm with the HP blower fan recirculating but, the upstairs will be a little cooler, especially farthest from the wood stove which has been closed off until now. Cooling is the biggest problem upstairs. I would like to use the wood stove sparingly and not have to run it at night.

I will be insulating this fall as much as I can. I plan on pumping low expansion foam for the 1st floor walls and pink batting on the second floor ceiling.

Any input would be great, I have been reading about options for several weeks online, but I need some real world experience and the forums here seem to be good.

3 kids upstairs now with a new one on the way in two months.

Sorry for length but wanted to give a good picture of my predicament.