I live in Birmingham, AL plus I have wanted to own a heat pump so badly; A heat pump is a two for one system, however you get one unit that can supply heating plus cooling, but how it does is by moving existing heat energy… The heat pumps from outside to inside in the winter, but it utilizes the ground temperature that is respectfully warmer.
Here is the snag though.
If your winter time temps get lower than 40 degrees, the air is simply not overheated enough. You can’t heat your house. In Birmingham, AL, there are three months out of the year that get evenings in the 30s. That would be awful! I debated on using space heaters for supplemental heating but the boost on my electric bill would be too much. So after that I talked to my local Birmingham, AL Heating, Ventilation plus A/C dealer. Tech guy suggested a hybrid furnace or also known as a dual fuel system. This combines a heat pump plus gas boiler to work for the AL weather, then for most of the year my heat pump is the one that is toiling. I have ideal air conditioner plus most of the time great heat. Then when the evenings get cold, the unit changes to gas plus the boiler operates. I never suffer from a cold winter time evening. I don’t get as efficient of results but that is the best I can hope for with my cold weather. I like that I don’t even have to push a button or toggle a switch for the unit to change heaters.