When we moved in, our home was already equipped with a fairly new forced air furnace. Unfortunately the house lacked central air conditioning. While the weather in our local area tends to be cold and snowy for the majority of the year, our brief summer season can bring high temperatures and horrendous humidity. My husband and I both agreed that we wanted a cooling system installed. I contacted a local HVAC contractor for an estimate, and after inspecting the home, he recommended that we invest in an electric heat pump. Since a heat pump is way more expensive to purchase and install than an air conditioner, I was reluctant. I did some research and learned that combining an electric heat pump with a natural gas furnace is called a dual fuel system, and it provides all sorts of advantages. A dual fuel system pays for itself in energy savings. This is because the heat pump is more efficient than a conventional air conditioner or furnace. It combines heating and cooling capacity and works by simply moving existing heat between the inside and outside of the house. In the summer, it operates similarly to an air conditioner, pulling heat from the indoor air and pumping it outdoors by way of refrigerant. The advantage is that the heat pump is effective at dehumidifying and costs less to run. For heating purposes, the heat pump avoids burning fossil fuels and utilizes ambient heat in the outside air. The operation is clean, safe, quiet and very environmentally friendly. The drawback of a heat pump is that it struggles to keep up with demand when the temperature drops below freezing. At that point, the furnace starts up and handles the heating needs for as long as necessary.