Is a heat pump more efficient than natural gas heat and will it save me money.?
A heat pump is basically a fancy term for air conditioner in reverse. Instead of pumping heat out of your house (which is what an air conditioner does) it pumps heat into your house. (To understand this, you need to realize that heat and temperature are not the same.) In general, gas heat is more efficient and cheaper to run than a heat pump. However, depending on where you live, the difference in operating cost may not be sufficient to warrant buying two systems. If you live in Florida, you probably don't need a lot of heating, so it probably isn't worth buying and installing a furnace. If you live in Wisconsin, then you probably want the air conditioner for the summer, but if you tried to use it as a heat pump when it's cold, your utility bills will probably be so high that they will cost more than a furnace. So to answer your question, a heat pump is not more efficient than natural gas, but if you don't need to use it a lot then it will save you money because you won't have to buy a furnace.
Yes, a heat pump doesn't have to generate any heat. It only moves heat from one place to another. This requires less energy than generating heat. A heat pump can extract heat from outside air to move inside even when temperatures drop below zero. However, if you want to increase efficiency further, use piping buried in the ground and circulate water to a heat exchanger in the unit. The ground at five feet deep (below permafrost, if any) is always 55 degrees.
Absolutely not. A heat pump is a refrigeration cycle in reverse. That is it takes and compresses freon and then uses the heat of compression to heat your home. The freon is then cooled back down with outside air, and recycled back to the compressor to be compressed and reheated. In a heat pump cycle you use mechanical energy that is produced by an electric motor turning the compressor. So you have the efficiency loss of the compressor, the motor and the electrical generator that your utility company uses to supply your electricity. In a gas heater you have inefficiency in the big compressors that the utility company uses to distribute gas. But after it gets to your house the heat produced by burning the gas is largely distributed into your home. Yes, you lose some in the heater. But the utility company that burns gas loses some of the heat as well in producing steam, to turn a turbine to turn a generator to make electricity. Heat pumps are touted by the electric companies so that they can sell you more electricity.
