A heat pump makes sense in your area. I'm about 120 miles north of you. We have a heat pump in our current house. It replaced a propane furnace and greatly reduced our heating costs.

We are currently building a new passive solar home. It will also have heat pump for cooling and supplemental heating.

You can buy heat pumps that use propane for back up heat when it gets really cold, but I don't see a ROI in them. They cost more initially, and propane is so expensive (and likley to go higher) that it makes more sense to just rely on the heat pump's back up heat strips for supplemental heat. A wood burning stove helps, too.

sjharris

Heat pumps have been used in the Southeast for many years and developed a bad reputation due to "cold heat". those days are over for the new models.

if operating costs are important, I would get rid of the propane heat altogether. you live in an area/climate that is perfect for HPs. you may need your electric service/breaker panel modified or upgraded for backup heat strips. ask your quoting dealers.

here is my recommendation.

15 SEER, 12.5+ EER, 9 HSPF
best matching var speed air handler
full BTUs both cooling and heating for rated size
R-410a refrigerant
new and correctly sized refrigerant lineset
scroll compressor
electronic demand defrost preferred
staged backup heat strips
thermostat with "dehumidify on demand" feature

Look at Carrier Performance 15 "H" model(sister mdl Bryant Preferred 15 "H" model) or Trane XL15i(sister mdl Am Std Heritage 15). You will probably find Carrier or Bryant less expensive.

IMO
Good Luck!

Looks like 2 votes for the HP and none for the propane furnace; my thoughts exactly! I appreciate the good advice and am going to print out your specific recommendation, tigerdunes, for my husband to get estimates. After sharing these responses with him, he is at least willing to now consider a HP. His bias against them is based, I'm sure, on older models that people have had.

sjharris

just so you know, I am up the road from you in SC.
I have never had a HP before until I put in my dual fuel system several yrs ago. I kind of hedged my bet but I have never looked back or regret the HP. It is doing a great job and saving me in operating costs. I have no doubt that a properly sized high eff HP system will do the same for you and I would definitely get rid of the propane for heating. Propane would be OK for cooking, drying, or fireplace logs.

I would recommend that your ductwork system be thoroughly inspected and if you have any hot/cold spots within your home, now is the time to address those type issues.

you might want to check with your coop and see if they offer any rate incentives for HP heating.

IMO