Prices typically climb over the course of every heating season [EIA Minnesota propane prices], and in Spicer, John paid for it every winter, watching propane prices climb toward $3 a gallon some years. When his longtime plumbing and heating contractor suggested a change, though, it wasn't the fuel bill that started the conversation; it was the air conditioner John already needed to buy. "He said, John, you're going to have to get an air conditioner anyway," John recalled. "He says, why not buy a heat pump, because a heat pump will serve as your air conditioner, and you'll benefit from the heat, and you're going to be on off-peak. You are going to save a tremendous amount of money." [link: how dual fuel heat pumps work / off-peak rate]
That advice held up. What John notices most day-to-day isn't the heat pump itself, it's how little he notices it at all. "The heat in our house is always kind of at the same temperature," he said. "No one ever says, ‘I'm cold,’ or ‘I'm hot.’" John states the sound of his heat pump fades into the background. "You really don't hear the heat pump run. Sometimes, I would have to go to the window to open it up to make sure the heat pump was running. I wasn't sure whether it was running or not. You don't even know that it exists, other than when you pay your bill."
That electric bill is where the difference really makes an impact. "Propane at one time was like $3 a gallon," John says. "We're talking $900 to $1,000 a month. Whereas with the heat pump and being on off-peak, I'm spending $250.” His bill during the summer changed just as much: "With the air conditioning, we're lucky to see a bill over $25."
For John, the choice isn't complicated if it ever comes up again. "If I have to replace it again, if that day comes, I definitely will replace it with another heat pump."