Your Furnace Died. Here Are Your Actual Options.
When a gas furnace fails in a Denver home, most people replace it with another gas furnace because that is what they are shown. Here is the honest comparison — including when a new furnace really is the right call.
We can often get you running on a temporary basis so you are not making a five-figure decision at 10pm in January. Emergency pressure is how people end up with the wrong system.
New Gas Furnace vs. Heat Pump Conversion
| New 96% gas furnace | Ducted heat pump | Dual-fuel (both) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gives you cooling | No — separate AC | Yes, included | Yes, included |
| Colorado incentives | None | $1,000 + Xcel/ton | $1,000 + Xcel/ton |
| Performance at −10°F | Full output | Reduced, plus backup heat | Full output (furnace) |
| Shoulder-season cost | Higher | Lowest | Lowest |
| Combustion venting & CO risk | Yes | None | Yes |
| Systems to maintain | Two (furnace + AC) | One | Two |
| Upfront cost | Lowest | Higher | Highest |
If your air conditioner is also near end of life — and in a home with a 20-year-old furnace it usually is — the honest comparison is not “furnace vs heat pump.” It is “furnace plus AC vs heat pump.” Once you price it that way, the gap closes sharply, and then the Colorado incentives close it further.
What We Actually Recommend, By Situation
Furnace failed, AC is also old, you have gas
Dual-fuel heat pump. Keep gas as the deep-winter backup, run the heat pump the rest of the year, get air conditioning included, and collect the incentives. This is the most common right answer in Denver.
Furnace failed, AC is nearly new
Usually a furnace, or a dual-fuel with the AC retained where the equipment matches. Throwing away a two-year-old condenser rarely pencils out. We will tell you when it does not.
No gas service, or you are removing gas
All-electric cold-climate heat pump with properly sized electric backup. This is also where a panel review matters most.
Income-qualified household
Heat pump, almost regardless of the above. HEAR can cover up to $8,000 of the heat pump and up to $4,000 of a panel upgrade, which changes the math entirely. See the rebate guide.
What Changes in Your House
The air feels different
A gas furnace blasts 130–140°F air in short bursts. A heat pump delivers 95–110°F air over longer runs. The room ends up at the same temperature, but the delivery is gentler and more even. Some people notice it as “less blasty.” Others expect the furnace blast and initially read the difference as the system not working — which is why we walk you through it at commissioning.
The outdoor unit runs in winter
Your AC condenser used to sit idle from October to May. The heat pump outdoor unit runs year-round, and it will periodically go into a defrost cycle where it looks like it is steaming. That is normal and expected, not a fault.
Your bills shift between fuels
Electric goes up, gas goes down. Whether the total lands lower depends on your rate plan, your envelope, and how the changeover is configured. We model it from your real twelve months before you sign, and we show you the assumptions.
The venting can come out
On an all-electric conversion, the combustion flue is decommissioned. That removes a carbon monoxide source from the house and, in some older Denver homes, frees up a chase.
Timeline
- Assessment: 60–90 min
- Proposal: typically 1–2 business days
- Permit: varies by jurisdiction
- Install: 1–2 days for most changeouts
- Inspection: scheduled by us after completion
What we haul away
- Old furnace and AC condenser
- Old line set where replaced
- Packaging and debris
Nothing gets left in your driveway or side yard.
Conversion Questions
Is a heat pump more expensive than just replacing the furnace?
Will I have to replace my ductwork?
Can you do this in the middle of winter?
What happens to my gas line and meter?
Do I really need a permit?
Get the Comparison in Writing
We will quote you the furnace and the heat pump side by side, with real numbers and every incentive itemized, and tell you which one we would put in our own house.