Know whether a heat pump or a new furnace saves you more
It weighs your real bills, your winters and today's rebates, then tells you which system pays off first.
Published . Steps as of October 2026.
Should I get a heat pump or a new gas furnace?
Give an AI with live web search your home size, climate and bills, and ask for a 15-year cost comparison with sources. Perplexity fits best when you want current rebates and prices with links you can check. ChatGPT or Claude work well too when you want to talk through the tradeoffs, as long as web search is on. If you live somewhere with very cold winters, ask it to include a hybrid setup, and always check the numbers against real installer quotes.
A picture made with AI to show the idea.
Your prompt
Fill in your details. Skip any you like.
ChatGPT and Claude open with your prompt already typed in. Perplexity can't be filled in from a link, so its button copies your prompt: paste it into the new chat.
The prompt that gets copied
I'm deciding between a heat pump, a new gas furnace, or a hybrid of both for my home. Here's my situation: home size [HOME SIZE, e.g. 1,800 sq ft, two floors], climate [MY CLIMATE, e.g. cold winters, lows near 0F], current system [CURRENT SYSTEM, e.g. 18-year-old gas furnace], and what I pay [MY ENERGY BILLS, e.g. $180 a month gas in winter]. Using current prices and sources, compare the three options in a table: upfront cost, likely yearly running cost, rebates or tax credits I may qualify for today, how well each handles my coldest days, and total cost over 15 years. Show the assumptions behind every number so I can check them. Then give me a plain verdict on which fits me best and why, plus five questions to ask each installer before I sign. If something depends on details you don't have, ask me instead of guessing.
Give Perplexity your home, climate and energy bills and get a side-by-side of a heat pump, a gas furnace and a hybrid, with costs over 15 years and current rebates.
Step by step
- Open Perplexity and start a new search
- Paste the prompt and fill in your home and bill details
- Read the comparison table and the sources it cites
- Take the questions it gives you to your installer quotes
What you'll get
A cost table for all three systems over 15 years with sources, a plain verdict for your home, and five questions for installers.
The changelog's example uses Nemotron 3.5 Super VL, a Pro and Max model. The prompt works on any Perplexity plan.
- Made for
- Everyone
- Works in
- Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude
Before