When our husband plus I built a modern house in Glenview, IL, temperature control was a major consideration, and the average annual temperature in our local section swings from the low teens into the high eighties. There are troubles with high humidity in the summer time plus overly dry air in the winter, but for the majority of the year, heating plus cooling is necessary, then both of us need unit that is powerful & energy efficient; I looked into all different styles of systems, including furnaces, cooling systems, boilers plus heat pumps; Eventually, I came across a hybrid oil furnace, which combines a natural gas furnace with an electric heat pump! Although this option was more luxurious than a more traditional alternative, the cost savings on weekly weekly bills quickly reuseed the investment. The benefit of a heat pump rather than an cooling system is that it provides both heating plus cooling. Over the summer, the heat pump keeps the house perfectly cool. It effectively dehumidifies plus offers exceptional energy efficiency. When the weather turns cooler, the heat pump switches over to heating mode plus literally reverses the flow of refrigerant, rather than burning fossil fuels, the system utilizes existing ambient heat in the outside air, compressing it to a higher temperature plus transferring it into the house. The heat pump is more environmentally friendly plus energy efficient than the furnace. Both of us only require the furnace once the outdoor conditions drop below chilly. At that point, the heat pump loses effectiveness plus the furnace automatically starts up. Both of us like ideal comfort no matter what the weather brings.