Why Heat Pumps Are the Future for Clean, Efficient Home Heating in the U.S.

If you want to replace your gas furnace with a cleaner, more efficient heating solution, you have two main options: electric resistance heating (commonly known as a space heater) or a heat pump. While space heaters act like giant toasters, warming a room by converting electricity directly into heat, heat pumps extract warmth from even freezing outdoor air and transfer it indoors—much like a refrigerator moves heat from inside the box to the kitchen. (That’s why the back of your fridge feels warm.)

Energy experts emphasize that replacing toxic gas furnaces and boilers with heat pumps is critical to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving public health. Less discussed, however, is the need to phase out space heaters in favor of heat pumps, which would make homes more comfortable, efficient, and cheaper to heat.

Heat Pumps Could Save U.S. Households $20 Billion Annually

According to a new report from the nonprofit energy research group RMI, one in five homes in the United States relies primarily on electric resistance heating. Switching these households to heat pumps would save an average of $1,530 per year, totaling $20 billion annually across the country. (These calculations apply only to single-family homes, not multifamily units like apartment buildings.)

Beyond cost savings, the transition would significantly reduce strain on the electrical grid and cut total carbon emissions from home heating and water heating by about 40%. “There’s a lot of benefits to the grid, which translate to lower rates as well,” said Ryan Shea, a manager in RMI’s carbon-free buildings program. “Then, of course, there’s using less energy.”

How Heat Pumps Work: A Physics-Based Efficiency Breakthrough

Heat pumps operate using a clever application of physics: by altering the pressure of refrigerants, they draw warmth from outdoor air or underground liquids and transfer it indoors. In summer, the process reverses, cooling indoor spaces like a traditional air conditioner. Unlike furnaces or space heaters—which generate heat by burning fossil fuels or consuming electricity—heat pumps simply move existing heat from one place to another.

This efficiency is measured by the “coefficient of performance” (COP). Heat pumps typically achieve a COP of around three, meaning they produce three units of heat for every unit of electricity used. In other words, they’re 300% efficient. This is three times more efficient than electric resistance heating (COP of one) and far surpasses even the most efficient gas furnaces.

Heat Pumps Fit Every Home, Regardless of Ducting

Heat pumps are versatile and can be installed in a variety of homes. For properties without ducting, ductless mini-split systems embed into walls to exchange heat between outdoor and indoor air. In homes with existing ductwork, an indoor unit replaces the furnace and connects to an outdoor compressor, which handles the heat exchange. If your air conditioning unit is outdated, replacing it with a heat pump provides both heating and cooling in a single system.