The results are in. 
Last January, I had a new heat pump installed to replace my aging electric furnace and central AC unit. I also installed the new Nest learning thermostat to maximize the savings in my investment. For the record, our typical thermostat setting for heating is a comfortable 71 degrees and the "away" setting is 65 degrees while our nightly setback is only to 68 degrees.
The Lennox heat pump I purchased has a HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) rating of 7.7 BTU/watt-hour compared to 3.412 for electric resistance heat. The SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating on the AC side was about 6 points higher than the old central AC unit. This was a mid-level unit, at the low end of what is considered high-efficiency for air to air heat pumps. It does have electric resistance heat for auxiliary heating and I chose the 'Max Savings' settings with the Nest options which limits the use of the auxiliary heat depending upon the weather.
Over twelve months later, the increased efficiency has shown significant savings. According to my utility company energy analysis, 76% of my electric usage is for heating and cooling. The energy usage for the all-electric house for the year before last was 49,822 KWH. In the past 12 months I have used 29,326 KWH for an annual savings of 20,496 KWH! That's a savings of 41% in overall electricity usage.
At this rate, the payback period for the new HVAC equipment will be less than 4 years.
Last January, I had a new heat pump installed to replace my aging electric furnace and central AC unit. I also installed the new Nest learning thermostat to maximize the savings in my investment. For the record, our typical thermostat setting for heating is a comfortable 71 degrees and the "away" setting is 65 degrees while our nightly setback is only to 68 degrees.
The Lennox heat pump I purchased has a HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) rating of 7.7 BTU/watt-hour compared to 3.412 for electric resistance heat. The SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating on the AC side was about 6 points higher than the old central AC unit. This was a mid-level unit, at the low end of what is considered high-efficiency for air to air heat pumps. It does have electric resistance heat for auxiliary heating and I chose the 'Max Savings' settings with the Nest options which limits the use of the auxiliary heat depending upon the weather.
Over twelve months later, the increased efficiency has shown significant savings. According to my utility company energy analysis, 76% of my electric usage is for heating and cooling. The energy usage for the all-electric house for the year before last was 49,822 KWH. In the past 12 months I have used 29,326 KWH for an annual savings of 20,496 KWH! That's a savings of 41% in overall electricity usage.
At this rate, the payback period for the new HVAC equipment will be less than 4 years.