Heat pump / natural gas hybrid questions

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Max W

Feeling the Heat
Feb 4, 2021
433
Maine
My daughter needs to replace her natural gas hot air furnace and is looking at a hybrid heatpump / natural gas combination. It looks like a good choice with rebates and other incentives. Her condo in northern Massachusetts, close to NH, was built in the ‘80s with the building practices of that time. It seems from what I read these systems the heat pumps are generally designed to switch over in the 30’s. Why is this when todays heat pumps are being designed to heat efficiently to lower temps? Has this just got to do when the cost of heating with the heat pump becomes greater than that of gas? I 10 years of satisfaction with our mini split but just starting to learn about these hybrids.

Are there common pitfalls to be avoided when purchasing one of these hybrid units and getting it installed?
 
The switchover temperature should be configurable. Depending on the system configuration this could be at 10 or 15 degrees if the heat pump is very efficient and sized correctly.
 
Got curious so did a quick Google and found this

[Hearth.com] Heat pump / natural gas hybrid questions