All Season Energy Savers. Installing a high-efficiency heat pump is certainly a choice most homeowners should consider, particularly with volatile natural gas and oil prices. Electricity prices do increase over time, but they tend to be more stable than other energy sources. Depending upon the outdoor temperature, a heat pump can produce $3 worth of heat for each $1 on your utility bill.

You often hear people say that heat pumps produce "cool" heat that is uncomfortable. This may have been true with the early designs of heat pumps many years ago, but new ones can keep a house as comfortably warm as a gas, oil or electric furnace. I use a heat pump in my own all-electric home.

Installing a hybrid heat pump system is a good choice if you already have a functioning gas or oil furnace or you are building a new home and also air-condition your home during the summer. Sometimes the heat pump is used to heat your home and the gas or oil furnace comes on at other times.

Heat pumps lose efficiency as the outdoor temperature drops because they draw their heat from the outdoor air. At a particular outdoor temperature, the gas or oil furnace becomes less expensive to use. Your heating contractor will set the switch-over (heat pump to gas or oil) point based upon several factors to provide the least expensive heating and best comfort.

Heat pumps are basically central air conditioners that run in reverse during the winter. Instead of pumping heat from indoor air to outdoors during summer, they pump heat from outdoor air to indoors during winter. The additional components and controls cost several hundred dollars more than an equivalent central air conditioner.

When making your buying decision, consider the same features as you would when selecting a central air conditioner. Have your heating contractor do payback analyses on several models with various efficiencies and features.