I live in Birmingham, Alabama and I have wanted to own a heat pump so badly.
A heat pump is a two for one system.
You get one device that can provide heating and cooling. How it does is by moving existing heat energy. The heat pumps from outside to inside in the winter. It utilizes the ground temperature that is typically warmer. Here is the snag though. If your winter temps get lower than 40 degrees, the air is simply not warm enough. You can’t heat your house. In Birmingham, Alabama, there are three months out of the year that get nights 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 then I talked to my local Birmingham, Alabama HVAC dealer. Tech guy recommended a hybrid heater or also known as a dual fuel system. This combines a heat pump and gas furnace to work for the AL weather. For most of the year my heat pump is the one that is working. I have ideal air conditioning and most of the time great heat. Then when the nights get cold, the device changes to gas and the furnace operates. I never suffer from a cold winter night. 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 device to change heaters.