Our natural gas furnace is from the 1970s. It has been inspected frequently over the years we've lived here and the most recent inspection (right before Thanksgiving) has deemed it inoperable due to a cracked firebox (carbon monoxide poisoning risk). We live in San Diego, so the furnace has had a long, easy life. 
It had been off since last spring anyway and even the pilot light was out since May.
We do not have air conditioning, but we do have ceiling fans. We live on the ocean side of the hills and get a cool breeze most of the time even though we are 12-ish miles from the beach. It does get hot several times a year, especially during what we all call "the Santa Anas" (when the wind changes direction and mostly comes from the desert, although it is quite erratic during these times).
I am starting my research for a new heating source and am wondering what the most environmentally friendly types are. Given our mild climate, I'm wondering if we can lower our "emissions" somehow and/or reduce energy consumption when we do prefer heat. The easiest thing would be to replace the existing gas furnace with a newer gas furnace and be done. Any of them will be more efficient than the current one. That's my back-up plan.
Meanwhile, I am wondering about other types of heating. I read a little bit on heat pumps and tried googling to figure out if it would work well here. I didn't get any location-specific info, but I did find that they are all-electric. I think they have to be installed outside, which would mean another retrofit. That may or may not work out due to our HOA rules and our physical configuration. I'm still interested.
What other types of heating are environmentally friendly and would be appropriate for a mild climate?
A wood stove or pellet stove or anything along those lines is inappropriate for our situation.
Thanks!
It had been off since last spring anyway and even the pilot light was out since May.We do not have air conditioning, but we do have ceiling fans. We live on the ocean side of the hills and get a cool breeze most of the time even though we are 12-ish miles from the beach. It does get hot several times a year, especially during what we all call "the Santa Anas" (when the wind changes direction and mostly comes from the desert, although it is quite erratic during these times).
I am starting my research for a new heating source and am wondering what the most environmentally friendly types are. Given our mild climate, I'm wondering if we can lower our "emissions" somehow and/or reduce energy consumption when we do prefer heat. The easiest thing would be to replace the existing gas furnace with a newer gas furnace and be done. Any of them will be more efficient than the current one. That's my back-up plan.
Meanwhile, I am wondering about other types of heating. I read a little bit on heat pumps and tried googling to figure out if it would work well here. I didn't get any location-specific info, but I did find that they are all-electric. I think they have to be installed outside, which would mean another retrofit. That may or may not work out due to our HOA rules and our physical configuration. I'm still interested.
What other types of heating are environmentally friendly and would be appropriate for a mild climate?
A wood stove or pellet stove or anything along those lines is inappropriate for our situation.
Thanks!
