Hello, My wife and I are looking to purchase a new home. We found one that we really like, but when we looked at it, the electric? furnace thing in the basement had a sticker on it dated from 1979. I know this house has/uses a heat pump, could that be the reason why the furnace is so old? When you have a heat pump, does it use the furnace? Is it typical for a furnace to last that long if you are using a heat pump? Ive googled and googled and I am just really confused on it all lol.

They said the AC was 3 years old, isnt the heat pump built into the a/c unit outside?

Thanks!

A heat pump is usually not able to heat the house completely in northern areas when the outdoor temperature gets below freezing as there is less heat in the outside air to completely provide the needed heat. Heat pumps can use an electric furnace or a fuel furnace to provide heat when the heat pump outdoor unit alone can not completely heat the house. That is a good situation, as a furnace can completely heat the home if and when the heat pump is out of adjustment or fails.

http://www.portlandgeneral.com/home/energy_savings/heat_pumps/maint_operations_tips.asp

http://www.contractortalk.com/showthread.php?t=7625

www.heatpro.us energy businessmen's knowledge

Yes, you really have to find out the MAKE and MODEL to get good answers. There IS more than one machine made.

not sure if you can tell anything from this pic

Yep, I can see you have an outdoor unit there.

www.heatpro.us energy businessmen's knowledge

Yes, you really have to find out the MAKE and MODEL to get good answers. There IS more than one machine made.