The big either/ors, compared honestly
Verdict first, trade-offs in the open, and sourced Seattle-area numbers — so you can pressure-test any pitch, including ours.
Cold-climate heat pump vs High-efficiency gas furnace
Heat pump vs gas furnace, side by side
Pick the heat pump if you want cooling, plan to stay, and can use the conversion rebates (PSE pays $3,000–$4,000 to leave gas). Pick the furnace if upfront budget rules, your panel is tight, or you're replacing a furnace young enough that dual-fuel makes more sense than scrapping it.
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Heat pump vs Central AC
Heat pump vs central AC, side by side
Cooling is a tie — identical hardware. Pick straight AC when your furnace is young and budget rules. Pick the heat pump when the furnace is mid-life or older, your heat is electric or oil (big savings + biggest rebates), or you want one machine doing both jobs.
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Ductless mini-splits vs Central ducted system
Ductless vs central (ducted) systems, side by side
Your ducts decide: homes with sound ductwork usually stay central; homes without ducts (pre-war, baseboard, townhome) usually go ductless rather than buy a $5,000–$15,000 duct retrofit. Zoning preference and visible-head tolerance settle the remainder.
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Gas furnace vs Electric furnace vs Heat pump (the asterisk)
Gas vs electric furnace, side by side
With gas service at the house, a gas furnace beats an electric furnace on operating cost in our market. But if you're shopping electric heat in 2026, the real comparison is a heat pump — it delivers the same electric heat at 2–4× the efficiency of resistance coils, with rebates on top ($1,500–$2,400 from PSE for exactly that conversion).
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Single-stage vs Two-stage vs Modulating
Single-stage vs two-stage vs modulating, side by side
In Seattle's hundreds of mild heating days, staging earns its keep: two-stage is the sweet spot for most homes (low-fire cruising, moderate premium), modulating is for comfort perfectionists and tricky homes, and single-stage is the value pick where budget rules and expectations are simple.
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HSPF2 8.1 vs HSPF2 8.5 vs HSPF2 9.5
HSPF2 8.1 vs 8.5 vs 9.5, side by side
The tiers matter twice: every point of HSPF2 is less electricity per unit of heat across Seattle's long season, and the utility programs step exactly at these lines — SCL's instant discount grows tier by tier ($300–$600), and PSE's ductless gas-conversion rebate requires ≥9.5. Buy the highest tier whose premium the discounts and your runtime justify.
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MERV 8 vs MERV 11 vs MERV 13
MERV 8 vs 11 vs 13, side by side
MERV 8 is the equipment-protection baseline, MERV 11 the practical household step-up, MERV 13 the fine-particle tier that many 1-inch filter slots can't breathe through. If your symptoms point at 13, buy geometry, not density: a 4–5-inch media cabinet delivers 13-class capture at less restriction than a 1-inch MERV 8.
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Essential — $23/mo vs Elite — $31/mo
Essential vs Elite maintenance plans, side by side
Essential fits single-system homes that want the annual visit handled with member pricing. Elite fits heat pump households (year-round duty = two visits), comfort-critical homes, and anyone buying queue position: next-business-day priority, 20% repair discounts, and one free emergency call a year. The $8/month delta is mostly about how expensive downtime is to you.
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Seattle City Light territory vs Puget Sound Energy territory
SCL vs PSE rebates, side by side
You don't choose — your address does: check your electric bill. SCL customers get instant equipment discounts at purchase ($300–$600 by HSPF2 tier) and, for oil homes, Seattle Clean Heat's $2,000–$6,000. PSE customers get conversion rebates ($1,500–$2,400 electric, $3,000–$4,000 gas, $1,500/$2,400 hybrid) with efficiency minimums and, from April 2026, installer-network requirements.
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Ducted heat pump vs Ductless multi-zone
Ducted heat pump vs ductless multi-zone, side by side
Both electrify the whole house; the ranges overlap ($8,000–$16,000 ducted vs $6,000–$15,000 multi-zone). Sound ducts tilt ducted (distribution already owned, invisible delivery, central filtration); no ducts or zoning priorities tilt ductless. It's the duct test's decision more than the brochure's.
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Oil furnace vs Gas furnace vs Heat pump
Oil vs gas vs heat pump: what heating actually costs here
The City of Seattle calls oil the most expensive form of home heating here — conversions save 50%+ on annual heating costs by the city's own figures. Gas sits in the middle with UTC-approved increases stacking (~9.4% in 2025). Heat pumps hold the efficiency column: ~40–60% savings off oil or electric resistance, break-even-to-moderate off newer gas, plus cooling, plus the only rebate eligibility of the three.
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Single-zone vs Multi-zone
Single-zone vs multi-zone ductless, side by side
Single-zone solves a space ($3,500–$6,000); multi-zone runs a home ($6,000–$15,000 by zone count). The skipped third option — two single-zone systems — beats multi-zone when redundancy or distance matters. Zones should follow loads and doors, not room counts.
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Window / portable AC vs Ductless mini-split
Window AC vs ductless mini-split, side by side
A window unit is triage: cheap, immediate, loud, inefficient, and seasonal. A mini-split is infrastructure: quiet, efficient, permanent — and it heats all winter, which in this climate is most of its value. Buy the window unit to survive next week's heat event; buy the mini-split to stop having this problem.
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Ready for comfort you can count on?
Whether it's a furnace that quit on a cold morning or a whole new system, the Glendale team is ready. Honest pricing, expert work, and 87+ years behind every visit.
Hours & Emergency
- Mon–Sat: 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM
- Sun: Emergency On-Call Only
- Emergency line: (206) 243-7700