The Last Furnace is an independent, plain-English second opinion on what comes after your furnace in the United States: a heat pump, a mini split, or keeping the furnace you have. We cover whether to switch at all, sizing, what happens in real cold, mini splits, what to check when something goes wrong, and the rebates and rules that still apply.
What the name means
The name asks a question: is this the last furnace your house will need? It is not a promise, and it is not advice to take your furnace out. The answer may be “not yet” or “not in your house”. For plenty of homes it is one of those two, and we say so.
The numbers often side with the furnace. At US average prices, a heat pump has to average a seasonal COP of about 3.55 to cost less to run than a 95% efficient gas furnace, and that line is about 2.7 in Georgia and about 5 in Ohio. Against heating oil at late-October prices it falls to about 1.0, so an oil home can look very different. That is our arithmetic from dated federal prices, and you can run it on your own bills. Going back to gas after a heat pump is a normal decision too, and we write it up as one.
What we do
We show the math. Running-cost pages and calculators work from your own fuel use and prices, with a winter gas price, and either side can win. Sizing tools compare a load with the maker’s capacity at your design temperature, not just with your square footage. Rebate pages give the program’s rule, with the date we read it. Troubleshooting pages say what you can check and where that stops and a certified technician starts. Our how we estimate page explains the method in full.
Our pages are written for readers in the United States and checked against sources such as the tax code and the IRS, the Department of Energy, EPA, the Energy Information Administration, ENERGY STAR, NOAA, state and utility program documents, and makers’ own data sheets. Pages are published under the name The Last Furnace.
What we are not
The Last Furnace is not an installer, a contractor, a utility, a rebate program, a quote service, an installer directory or a government agency. We sell and install nothing. We have not seen your house, your ducts, your bills or your quote, and we do not claim to have installed, tested or owned the equipment we describe. Product details come from the makers’ own sheets, and we report them as the makers’ figures.
How we are funded
The Last Furnace is funded by display advertising. Ads may not appear yet while the site is new. Once they run, some may come from installers, equipment makers, quote services or energy companies. An ad is not an endorsement, and advertisers have no say over what we publish.
How we stay independent
- No affiliate links. We earn nothing if you buy a heat pump, a mini split or a furnace after reading a page.
- No paid placements. Nobody can pay for coverage, a mention or a better position.
- No sold leads. We have no quote form, and we do not pass your details to installers or anyone else.
- No referrals or quotes. We do not recommend, list or rank installers, and no installer pays us.
- No “best” rankings. We report what makers publish and name no winner.
- Nothing for sale. We do not sell, install or finance equipment.
That is why our pages can say things a seller might not: that a furnace costs less to run in your state, that a rebate you were told about no longer applies, or that a rated efficiency is a test result and not what a home will get. Where a page needs a figure our sister sites cover, such as an installed price from CostPlain, we link to it and name it.
How pages are checked
Every page gets a fact-check against its sources, separate from the writing, and the sources are linked at the claims they support. Each page ends with the date its sources were checked. Our editorial policy explains each step.
Use our numbers as a starting point
An estimate can’t see your house. Results change with your insulation, your ducts, your rate plan, your climate and the equipment you actually buy. A qualified installer sizes and prices the real job, the program decides what it pays, and a tax professional can speak to your tax return.
Mistakes and questions
Our corrections page logs what we have fixed, and our contact page says how to reach us. Please read our disclaimer too: everything here is general information, not professional, tax or legal advice.
