A homeowner in The Manor in Milton stopped me before I even unloaded the truck: "Be straight with me. My neighbor put in a heat pump last year. Should I do the same?" It is the question I hear more than any other this year, so here is the same straight answer I gave him.
For the right home, a heat pump is one of the best HVAC decisions you can make in North Georgia. It is not right for every home, and a poorly sized or poorly set-up heat pump will leave you unhappy.
What a heat pump is
A heat pump is an air conditioner that can run in reverse. In summer it pulls heat out of the house, exactly like an AC. In winter it pulls heat from the outside air and moves it inside. One outdoor unit and one indoor air handler do both jobs, so there is no separate furnace.
Does it work in Georgia winters?
Yes. Forsyth County winters are mostly days in the 30s to 50s with a handful of hard freezes. Modern heat pumps heat well through that, and on the few nights in the teens, backup heat takes over: either electric heat strips in the air handler or, in a dual-fuel setup, a gas furnace. Your house stays warm; you just use the backup for a few nights.
What it costs in Cumming
| Option | Typical installed price |
|---|---|
| Heat pump system | $7,500 – $16,500 |
| Dual fuel (heat pump + gas furnace) | $11,000 – $19,000 |
| Gas furnace + separate AC | Furnace $4,500 – $11,500 plus AC $5,500 – $14,500 |
Where your home lands in those ranges depends on size, efficiency, single-stage versus two-stage versus variable-speed, and whether ducts or electrical service need changes. Your written estimate lists each of those separately.
When I recommend a heat pump
- You are replacing both the AC and the furnace now. This is the sweet spot: one install, one system.
- You do not have natural gas, or your current heat is electric strips or propane.
- You want one system to maintain instead of two.
- Your AC is past 12 years and your furnace is past 15 to 18 years.
When I tell people to keep the furnace
- The furnace is under about 8 years old and working. Do not replace good equipment; replace just the AC.
- Only the AC failed and the furnace is fine.
- The house has insulation or duct problems that should be fixed first.
- You plan to sell in the next two or three years.
Electric backup or dual fuel?
Electric heat strips are built into the air handler and come on automatically in deep cold. Lower upfront price; most Forsyth County homes are fine with this.
Dual fuel pairs the heat pump with a gas furnace that takes over on the coldest nights. Higher upfront price, and it makes the most sense in larger homes that already have gas.
Mistakes I fix on other contractors' installs
- Oversizing. A heat pump that is too big short-cycles and leaves the house clammy. We size every system with a load calculation.
- Skipping the ducts. Heat pumps rely on good airflow. We check the ducts before we quote equipment.
- The wrong thermostat. Heat pumps need a thermostat built for them, or the backup heat runs far more than it should.
- Backup heat set up wrong. If the lockout settings are never configured, the system can lean on electric strips all winter and the bill shows it.
My honest recommendation
If your equipment is near the end of its life and you are replacing both pieces, a heat pump or dual-fuel system is very likely the right call. If your current system has plenty of life left, keep it and maintain it. Either way, we will show you both options side by side in a free written estimate, with model numbers and monthly payments, and let you decide.