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We may be relocating to the Greenville, sc. We've noticed that some houses have natural gas heat and others have a heat pump. We've never had either (we have oil) and have no experience with these. What is cheaper to use and is more economical? Which works better? Thanks.
It does get cold in the winter here (2-3 ice/snow events per year)
A heat pump is incredibly efficient - however, at very cold outdoor temps, it produces minimal heat and often you may have to use the "auxillary or emergency heat" option (i.e electric heating strips which = $$$)
I highly recommend you get a house with "dual-fuel" HVAC system - in the long run, this will be more efficient (assuming natural gas prices remain reasonable) and will increase the value of your home
Most heat pumps are only good to about 35 degrees or so before the heating strips kick in, but in very recent years there are some that work much lower. Our mini-split heat pumps function down to -13 F.
Central heat/heat pump sucks. period! It works fine above 38 degrees and then the heat strips come on. Once the heat strips come on, it is very expensive and not to mention, they don't heat very well. It doesn't blow warm air like gas. It's a cool air to slowly try to heat the home. We've had our insulation beefed up and it still doesn't warm enough for us on the cold nights. If I could chose, I'd prefer gas or a dual system that uses gas before the heat strips kick on. I just don't like feeling cold in my own home.
We had a heat pump for 20+ years. We just switched to gas & like it much better. It is much warmer. We have not received the bill yet but had gas logs & a gas water heater as well. We always ran the logs from the time we got home until bedtime. We have not used them since switching as we want to see the actual cost. I'm not expecting it to be any worse than my power bill was. We keep our heat n 72 in the day & 70 at night.
being back in WI after 6 years in SC, i'd firmly say heating with gas (natural, as LP can be costly as well) is much better. While our heat pump did its job in SC, others are correct in that the heating strips can kick on once temps drop outside, giving one a very large electric heater. Keep in mind they recommend not raising the temps more then 2 degrees at a time or that also can engage the "emergency" heating strips. And while the thermostat may show the temp you set it at, it never felt as warm as the same temp in our homes with a gas furnace.
We'd have monthly elec bills in our SC home (we built, all brick about 3000 sq ft with zoned controls) easily in the $200's during winter down there. In looking at our latest bills in our WI home now (2600 sq ft vinyl, 12 yrs old for comparisons) our gas and elec combined to under $130 total. And i'll guarantee the temps up here this past month are far colder then what we'd have in a SC Jan (coldest period).
Personally I don't mind heat pumps at all in the right application in the Carolinas. But I won't get into a big discussion on that. A lot of it comes down to proper sizing of equipment, proper insulation of the house, proper air sealing of the house, etc. which is going to be hit or miss buying an existing home anyway. If you have any doubt, I guess go with gas heat, but our upstairs heat pump is cheap to operate in the winter and gets the job done.
I think ranger17 hit the most pertinent points - heat pump generated heat never really feels warm at all. Output air is only slightly above the thermostat set temperature. We had a heat pump when we lived in Northern Virginia and changed to gas as soon as we could. One point with heat pump is that you really have to set the temperature and leave it alone. No adjustments to cooler at night since, as ranger17 pointed out, if you bump the temp up more than 2 degrees the emergency heat (very expensive) will kick in. You make the right decision going with gas IMO.
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Gas heat is sooo much better 
