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I have a gas furnace and a separate AC unit - I wonder can I replace the AC unit with a heat pump and keep the gas furnace? I could keep the existing thermostat
by dave333 3y ago
I have a gas furnace and a separate AC unit - I wonder can I replace the AC unit with a heat pump and keep the gas furnace? I could keep the existing thermostat and have the heat pump work with a new second thermostat so I can set the heat pump to kick in the heat at a lower temperature than the gas furnace. Maybe turn the gas furnace thermostat down once a month to operate it to prevent problems.
- mschuster91 3y agoYes, of course, that's the "dual fuel" setup mentioned in the article. In Europe, it's very common as we mostly use water to distribute heat. Either connect the heat pump and the gas furnace in parallel and run whatever you want depending on circumstances (i.e. normal operation is handled by heat pump, but the heat pump kicks in at low temperatures or high load), or run them in series with an optional bypass (i.e. the heat pump heats the water prior to entering the gas furnace).
- throw0101d 3y agoNote that your furnace needs to be designed to support this. Generally it is extra logic so that you have a "Heat_1" source (HP) and a "Heat_2" source (switch to burning).
- dave333 3y agoI was hoping that the heat pump could just hook into the existing ductwork (replace the AC unit) and use its own separate thermostat. The existing thermostat might try to turn on the non-existent AC just nothing would happen.
- throw0101d 3y ago> I was hoping that the heat pump could just hook into the existing ductwork (replace the AC unit) and use its own separate thermostat. The inside unit (furnace, air handler) and outside (AC, HP) unit need to have some level of compatibility. Check the sticker on your furnace to find the model number and see its capabilities.