Dual Fuel Heating Provides Greater Efficiency, Constant Home Comfort

The type of heating equipment you choose for your home, and the level of efficiency that equipment achieves, can be strongly influenced by your local climate. In Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey, a dual fuel heating system provides high levels of efficiency while keeping your home consistently warm and comfortable.

Dual fuel heating systems get their name from the fact that they use two different sources of energy to provide heating.

Also called hybrid fuel systems, these systems usually combine an air-source (electric) heat pump with a fuel-burning furnace to provide the best efficiency and most economical operation for the climate in which they’re used.

When temperatures are cool, the heat pump provides excellent heating at a low cost. Heat pumps have a balance point, however, which is the outdoor temperature at which their performance begins to decrease and costs begin to increase. In most cases, heat pump balance points are around 32 degrees, though with improving technology, that point is getting lower all the time.

In a dual fuel system, when temperatures drop below the balance point, the system switches to the fuel-burning furnace to provide heat.

In cold weather, the furnace provides more comfortable heating at a lower cost. The lower cost isn’t so much because of efficiency but rather because natural gas prices are so much lower than electricity (at least currently). This two-stage level of operation provides better heating at a lower price than either the furnace or the heat pump could produce on its own.

Dual fuel heating systems typically reduce heating costs by about 30 percent over sources such as traditional furnaces. If you’re considering a dual fuel system, remember:

• Initial investment will be higher than either a heat pump or furnace alone, but the ongoing savings will allow you to quickly recoup the purchase price.
• Dual fuel systems require installing and maintaining two different fuel sources.
• The furnace portion of the dual fuel system must be serviced and ready to perform when cold weather arrives.

For more information on how dual fuel heating can improve your indoor comfort level while saving you money, contact us today at Sobieski Services, Inc. Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

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