Traditional HVAC vs Heat pump
 

All this talk of HVAC is enlightening. Does anyone have experience with Heat Pump vs Traditional HVAC?

HVAC is an abbreviation for heating ventilation and air conditioning, not a particular style of unit. A heat pump is a type of HVAC system.

What are you referring to when you say “traditional HVAC?”

? what you mean by traditional. Basically 2 types of all electric AC's. Heat pump and coiled heat. Coiled heat is very costly to run. Fan blows air over a heated coil(like an electric dryer) Heat pump is a reverse cycle AC. Basically it is an AC compressor running in reverse. Heat pump(unless you have gas) is the way to go, unless you do not mind keeping house very cool.

I prefer a standard split system for cooling and gas furnace for heat over a heat pump. My preference is only based on my past life as a commercial HVAC technician.

If you have natural gas service to your house, you can buy a gas furnace for heat and an electric air conditioner. But, if your house is all electric, your only logical choice is to install a heat pump. Heat pumps work very well in warm climates like Florida. They are not as efficient in colder climates up north. Even if I had access to natural gas in The Villages, I would opt for a heat pump.

You have hit the nail on the head.
I live in a small village in UK, and there is no natural gas connections. Oil or electric only.
UK government is phasing out oil and gas, and those types of supply will not be allowed soon in new builds.
We had an Air Source system installed, and went all electric. Government Green subsidy actually paid for installation, about £7000.00
Wonderful in summer and keeps our water heating bill minimal.
Winter is a different story. Our heating bill is enormous, as there is little benefit from the system in cold weather.
Also Ground Heat Pumps and Air Source heating use quite a bit of electricity just to operate.
If I lived in Florida, Air Source would be my choice, it works well in hot conditions, and will minimize electric bill.

Heat pump no matter what type of furnace you have. Here in Florida, we use heat maybe 5 days a year, whereas we use the cooling cycle at least 200 days a year. The heat pump is much more efficient to run than a standard air conditioner. A heat pump is also more efficient to heat a house than using an electric furnace, much more. I had a 5500sq ft house with 3 heat pumps (new house we built) than was cheaper to operate than a 3600 Sq ft house (also new, 20 miles from the house above) with a natural gas furnace and a typical air conditioner. We used the heat for over 60 days and cooling for over 200 days

Heat pumps used to be inefficient in colder climates, but the new ones work just fine and are much cheaper to run than propane heating systems, which I had to use for several decades. There are few places in the U.S. these days where I wouldn’t put in a high quality heat pump rather than an old fashioned heater. Most so-called heat pumps are also used for air conditioning. Even in states like Maine and North Dakota and Washington, air conditioning is often enjoyable. Here in The Villages, my heat pump is on 24/7, but even with the water heater, my electric bill is usually less than $100.

There are a lot of factors involved, including the cost of electricity vs the cost of natural gas where you live. Here is a Carrier link explaining some of the factors.

Heat Pump vs. Furnace | What Are the Pros & Cons | Carrier.

A Heat Pump "costs" more. A Heat Pump has more parts that can break. A Heat Pump operates at much higher pressure in reverse causing wear/tear on compressor and using more power and many times causing freon leaks at fittings.

A Heat Pump does have higher efficiency over conventional system but does that outweigh everything I mentioned prior?? And it will take you years for that better efficiency to pay for the added initial costs/repairs, etc.

Just another reason to choose a reliable installer
and hopefully get good service when needed.

Thanks to all. I am well aware of what exactly a heat pump is, as I used to have one in a previous house in Chicago. But was wondering if they are worth the extra expense in this area, as it will be mostly just used for cooling. Definitely not worth it in Chicago. Interestingly it actually worked pretty good there until around 30 degrees F. Again, thanks to all who answered. Gives me something to contemplate for next year or 2025 when I will replace old traditional combo system.

That's one of more inaccurate posts this month.

Heat Pumps are one of the most efficient heating systems out there, even in the frigid North where I live. In most cases, they're 2 or 3 times as efficient as fossil fuel systems and their environmental footprint is significantly better.

Heat pumps do have more components that can fail compared to alternative heat and a/c but all newer refrigerant circuits operate at higher pressures and despite being "environmentally safe" have to be reclaimed and depending on acidity cannot be placed back in service.

Our house here was built in 1998. I was so happy to see we have a Trane heat pump with the good ole climatuff compressor. Other than regular coil cleaning, filter changing I've only had to replace the run capacitor twice and compressor contactor once. She's in a good shaded area and here it is 2023. Knock on wood she keeps going!