3050 -- Field Testing of Electric Heat Pumps and Gas Furnaces PDF

A method of field testing residential heating systems to determine their seasonal efficiency is presented here. The actual heat loss of a house can be found by determining the energy required by an electric resistance heater to keep the structure at a given temperature when the average outdoor temperature is known. Knowing the input energy required by any other heating system to keep the same structure at the same indoor temperature allows you to determine seasonal efficiency of the system being compared. The seasonal efficiencies of three gas furnaces and three heat pumps were determined using this methodology and the results are discussed here.

Units: I-P