Bryant 288A Heat Pump or 180A Straight A/C?

[jfullam]

I'm new to the board, no HVAC expert, just a consumer trying to make the best choice to replace my old A/C system. I have a local HVAC company that treats me well and does good work. They installed my oil furnace about 3 years ago and have serviced our HVAC equipment for the last 8 years or so.
I had them come down and give me an estimate to replace my system. I have narrowed the choice down to 2 Bryant models, now trying to decide between Heat Pump and straight A/C.
Either the Bryant 288a Heat Pump or the Bryant 180A A/C. We live in Southern Pennsylvania and I have never had a heat pump system before. The 288a is slightly more expensive, but I am leaning towards the heat pump from all that I have read thus far. I just want to get some warm fuzzies that this is a sold system that does not have any issues as long as it is sized and installed properly. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks.

[james80031]

The heatpump will pay for itself in money saved on utility bills. Gas backup is the way to go.

[jfullam]

Since we just replaced our oil furance a few years ago, switching to Gas will not be happening. We also do not have a hot water heater, our hot water is on demand from our oil furnace. We currently use about 1,000 gallons of oil per year and have a 1,000 gallon buried tank. So if I go with the heat pump and use my oil furnace for heat backup, does that still make sense? The main goal was to replace our A/C system with a newer more efficient system, but if I can save money on heating in the winter months by spending a few extra bucks on the Bryant 288A, I'll do it.

[beenthere]

Yes, you can save a lot of money on your heating bill by getting a heat pump.

What you have is called a boiler.
A boilers heat water, or makes steam to heat your house.
A furnace heats air and then circulates it to your house.

[jfullam]

Thanks for the replies. How do you guys feel about the Bryant Heat Pump system - 288A? Any experience with that model and whether there are any known quality issues?

[james80031]

My comment was meant to keep you away from electric backup. It will save you money. Here is a simple explanation:
1: Even though electric heat operates at near 100% efficiency, electricity is too expensive to make this a good option in a cold climate.
2. Your oil furnace will be a great backup, and you already know how much it costs to use as a primary heat source.
3. Since a heat pump does not produce heat, it operates at a very low cost. Electric heat uses electricity, oil furnace burns oil; heat pump absorbs heat from outside air. Since most heatpumps produce about 6 to 8 time the BTUs per KW of electricity used when compared to electric resistance heating, you could call it 600-800% more efficient. This translates to less dollars per BTU to heat your home.

[james80031]

Oh, I forgot about your hot water. Guess you'll have the oil burning all the time reguardless.