Heat pump vs Furnace in Cheshire County, New Hampshire
When a heat pump makes sense
If gas isn't an option at your house, a cold-climate heat pump is built to keep working through nights at 15°F and it gives you cooling in the summer too. Just make sure whoever installs it sizes it for a cold-climate model and not a standard one, since standard heat pumps lose heating power once temperatures drop this low.
When a furnace makes sense
If gas is already run to your house, or you can get it run there, a furnace is the cheaper way to heat through nine months of cold. It costs at least 25% less to run than a heat pump at New Hampshire gas and electric prices, and it holds its full output on the coldest nights, when a standard heat pump would struggle. The tradeoff is it only heats, so you would need a separate system for summer cooling.
When a heat pump makes sense
If gas isn't an option at your house, a cold-climate heat pump is built to keep working through nights at 15°F and it gives you cooling in the summer too. Just make sure whoever installs it sizes it for a cold-climate model and not a standard one, since standard heat pumps lose heating power once temperatures drop this low.
When a furnace makes sense
If gas is already run to your house, or you can get it run there, a furnace is the cheaper way to heat through nine months of cold. It costs at least 25% less to run than a heat pump at New Hampshire gas and electric prices, and it holds its full output on the coldest nights, when a standard heat pump would struggle. The tradeoff is it only heats, so you would need a separate system for summer 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 Cheshire County.
Nights here average 15°F all winter, and gas heat costs at least 25% less than a heat pump at New Hampshire prices.
If your home has no gas line, a cold-climate heat pump will still heat it through those 15°F nights, and cool it come summer too.
Find a contractor| Compared on | Heat pump | Furnace |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to run here | Costs more to run | At least 25% less to run |
| What it does | Heats and cools | Heats only |
| Homes in New England that heat with one | 1.7% | 54.8% |
| Handles a 15°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 gas isn't an option at your house, a cold-climate heat pump is built to keep working through nights at 15°F and it gives you cooling in the summer too. Just make sure whoever installs it sizes it for a cold-climate model and not a standard one, since standard heat pumps lose heating power once temperatures drop this low.
When a furnace makes sense
If gas is already run to your house, or you can get it run there, a furnace is the cheaper way to heat through nine months of cold. It costs at least 25% less to run than a heat pump at New Hampshire gas and electric prices, and it holds its full output on the coldest nights, when a standard heat pump would struggle. The tradeoff is it only heats, so you would need a separate system for summer cooling.
A Cheshire County contractor will price both against your own house, your ductwork and your panel.
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