Evaluate & Compare
AC, heat pump, or furnace — which is right for your home?
A plain-English comparison of your heating and cooling options in Des Moines, IA, plus the efficiency ratings that actually matter — so you can walk into a quote knowing the trade-offs.
Compare your options
Should I get an air conditioner or a heat pump in Des Moines?
If you want one system that does everything, a heat pump heats and cools efficiently and works well through most of an Iowa winter. If you want maximum heat on the coldest sub-zero nights, an AC paired with a gas furnace — or a dual-fuel heat pump plus furnace — is the dependable Des Moines setup. The deciding factors are your home, your fuel prices, and how you value efficiency versus deep-cold backup.
Air conditioner vs. heat pump
Central Air Conditioner
Cooling only, paired with a separate furnace for heat.
- Cools efficiently in the humid Iowa summer
- Pairs with a gas furnace for reliable deep-winter heat
- Lower equipment cost than a heat pump for the cooling side
Heat Pump
One system that both heats and cools.
- Heats and cools from a single outdoor unit
- Very efficient in mild and moderate cold
- Often paired with a furnace as a dual-fuel system for sub-zero snaps
Furnace vs. heat pump (the heating side)
Gas Furnace
- Strong, fast heat on the coldest Iowa nights
- Rated by AFUE — the share of fuel turned into heat
- Needs a separate AC for cooling
Heat Pump (heating mode)
- Moves heat instead of burning fuel, so it can be very efficient
- Rated by HSPF2 for heating and SEER2 for cooling
- A backup furnace (dual-fuel) covers the deepest cold
Efficiency tiers (SEER2 & AFUE)
These are equipment efficiency ratings, not prices. Higher numbers use less energy for the same comfort.
| Rating | Standard | Better | Best |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling — SEER2 | 13.4–14.5 | 15–16 | 17–21+ |
| Gas heat — AFUE | ~80% | 90–95% | 96–98% |
| Heat-pump heat — HSPF2 | ~7.5 | 8–8.5 | 9+ |
AC Sizing Estimator
What size air conditioner do I need?
A common starting point is one ton of cooling per ~600 square feet (about 20 BTU per square foot), so a 1,800 sq ft Des Moines home lands near 3 tons. Ceiling height, insulation, sun exposure, and how many people live there move that up or down. Use the estimate below as a sanity-check range — never as a final size.
3.0–3.5 tons
About 36,600 BTU/hr of cooling (roughly 3.1 tons before rounding to the nearest half-ton unit).
Basis: ~20 BTU/sq ft, adjusted for ceiling height, insulation, occupants, and sun. A bigger range means more of your inputs push the load toward the edges — an on-site measurement narrows it.
Common misconception
“Bigger is better — just oversize it to be safe.” An oversized AC short-cycles: it blasts cold air, hits the thermostat fast, and shuts off before it pulls humidity out. In an Iowa summer that leaves your home cold but clammy, and the constant on-off wears the equipment out faster. Right-sized beats oversized.
Iowa local truth
“Heat pumps don’t work in Iowa winters.” Older ones struggled, but today’s cold-climate heat pumps keep heating well below freezing. The common Des Moines answer is a dual-fuel system: the heat pump handles most of the season efficiently, and the gas furnace kicks in for the deepest sub-zero cold.
Already have a system? Start with repair-or-replace
If you’re comparing because something is failing, run the numbers first. Our Repair or Replace calculator uses the $5,000 rule and your system’s age to show whether fixing or replacing is the smarter spend before you shop for new equipment.
Open the Repair or Replace calculator →Common questions
Is a heat pump a good idea in IA's cold winters?
Modern cold-climate heat pumps work well through most of an Iowa winter. Many homeowners pair one with a gas furnace in a dual-fuel (hybrid) setup so the furnace takes over on the deepest sub-zero nights, giving you efficiency most of the year and reliable heat in a hard freeze.
What is the difference between SEER2 and AFUE?
SEER2 rates cooling efficiency — a higher number means more cooling per unit of electricity. AFUE rates a furnace, showing how much fuel becomes heat: 96% AFUE means 96 cents of every fuel dollar turns into heat. They measure two different systems.
Air conditioner or heat pump — which costs less to run?
A heat pump can lower overall costs because one efficient unit handles both heating and cooling. The right answer depends on your home, fuel and electricity prices, and how cold it gets, so compare them on your actual house rather than a rule of thumb.