Heat pump or furnace: which heating system to choose in Quebec?

The choice between a heat pump and a furnace in Quebec depends on climate, budget, and specific needs:

Heat pump:

• Works as a reversible air conditioner — heats in winter and cools in summer
• Efficiency: Natural Resources Canada states that air-source heat pumps are up to 2.5 times more efficient than a furnace or an oil boiler, and cold-climate air-source heat pumps up to 3 times
• Limitation: for an ordinary air-source heat pump, supplementary heating may be needed when the outdoor temperature is between -10 °C and -15 °C; a cold-climate air heat pump operates down to -30 °C, beyond which supplementary heating may also be needed
• Installation cost: no published schedule sets it; it depends on the model, capacity, number of units and related work, and is obtained through a quote
• Operating cost: it depends on the unit's actual performance, the electricity rate in force and the home's consumption; it cannot be derived from a comparative percentage

Furnace (electric or gas):

• Electric: Simple, reliable; installation is not set by any published schedule and is obtained through a quote. Operating cost: it varies with floor area, insulation and the electricity rate in force; it has to be calculated for a given house, not taken from an average
• Gas: The unit requires a gas connection; its operating cost depends on the gas price and consumption, and cannot be derived from a generic comparative percentage

Recommendation: A cold-climate heat pump combined with a backup furnace (dual-fuel system) covers extreme cold with the backup while keeping the heat pump's performance the rest of the time; it is also the setup Natural Resources Canada describes for Canadian climates.