I have put an 1400 sq ft addition onto an existing home. The addition is well insulated and air tight... will need its own HVAC system. I live outside of Philadelphia, PA.

Had been planning to put in a heat pump with an oil furnace as back up for when the outside temp drops and the heat pump becomes less efficient. A new recommendation from HVAC sales guy is to install "high efficiency communicating heat pump" with no iol furnace back-up, just the electric heat coils in the heat pump system as a back-up for when outside temps dip below 17 degrees.

I know there are tax incentives to doing thhis, but is this a good idea to forgoe the oil back-up? Will we have sufficient heat for the week or two each winter when temps are below 17? Or is my HVAC sales guy trying to push me in a direction I should not go?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

So the question is which auxiliary/backup heat to go with oil or electric resistive? What are your costs for electric including taxes, and what is your current price per gallon oil? What if any incentives do you have for either?

Let us know and I can repost some operational cost numbers.