Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace Cost Calculator
Compare heat pump and gas furnace operating costs using your electricity rate, natural-gas price and heating-system efficiency. Estimate annual heating costs and see which option may cost less for your home.
Awaiting Details
Fill out the parameters on the left and click "Calculate Cost" to see your estimated cost and energy breakdowns.
Heat Pump Costs Less
Based on your utility rates, a heat pump is cheaper to run than a gas furnace.
You could save -- per year (about --/mo).
This operating cost is an estimate based on your home size, climate and insulation. Providing your actual annual heating bill will improve accuracy.
Gas Furnace Costs Less
Based on your utility rates, a gas furnace is cheaper to run than a heat pump.
You could save -- per year (about --/mo).
This operating cost is an estimate based on your home size, climate and insulation. Providing your actual annual heating bill will improve accuracy.
Costs Are Similar
Based on your utility rates, both systems cost approximately the same to operate annually.
The estimated difference is negligible for this comparison.
This operating cost is an estimate based on your home size, climate and insulation. Providing your actual annual heating bill will improve accuracy.
Estimated 10-Year Comparison
Technical Details (For Advanced Users)
When Would the Recommendation Change?
How the Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace Calculator Works
The heat pump vs gas furnace calculator provides a detailed heating cost comparison by standardizing the price of both energy sources. To determine whether an electric heat pump or a natural-gas furnace is cheaper for your home, the calculator models how efficiently each system converts raw energy into usable indoor heat.
It calculates these estimates based on your exact utility rates (electricity cost and natural-gas cost), the specific heat-pump efficiency (COP), and furnace efficiency (AFUE). If you don't know your exact annual heating demand, the tool estimates it using your home size, climate zone, and insulation level.
Note: This calculator estimates baseline heat pump operating costs and gas furnace operating costs. It is an analytical tool rather than a guarantee of your actual future utility bills.
Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace Operating Costs
When comparing heat pump vs gas furnace operating costs, there is no universal winner. The cost to run a heat pump vs a gas furnace depends almost entirely on the localized cost of electricity compared to the cost of natural gas, and how efficiently each system performs.
For example, if you live in an area with expensive electricity and cheap natural gas, a gas furnace often costs less to operate. However, because heat pumps are incredibly efficient at moving heat, they can frequently provide cheaper heating even if the raw price of electricity is higher than gas. Your exact heating demand, local climate, and equipment performance will ultimately dictate your overall heating bill.
How the Cost Calculation Works
To directly compare the cost of electricity and the cost of natural gas, the calculator converts both fuels into a single standardized unit: the cost per MMBtu of useful heat (One Million British Thermal Units delivered into your home).
The mathematical engine determines the cost of raw energy and divides it by the system's efficiency (COP for heat pumps, AFUE for gas furnaces). This normalization proves exactly what you pay for the heat you actually feel.
COP vs AFUE: Understanding Heating Efficiency
To accurately perform a heat pump vs gas furnace efficiency comparison, you must understand their respective efficiency metrics.
⚡ Heat Pump COP
“Coefficient of Performance (COP) measures how much heat a heat pump delivers relative to the electricity it consumes.”
Actual COP varies with equipment and operating conditions. Note: If your equipment uses HSPF or HSPF2, you can generally divide the HSPF value by 3.412 to estimate your average seasonal COP.
🔥 Gas Furnace AFUE
“Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) represents the proportion of annual fuel energy converted into useful indoor heat.”
An 80% AFUE furnace converts about 80% of its annual fuel energy into useful heat; the remaining energy is lost through exhaust and other system losses.
When Is a Heat Pump Cheaper Than a Gas Furnace?
A heat pump is cheaper than a gas furnace when the combination of your electricity rate and heat pump COP delivers useful heating output at a lower cost than your natural gas rate and furnace AFUE.
Our mathematical engine continually assesses a break-even COP for your specific rates. If the heat pump’s actual COP falls below the calculated economic break-even COP, the gas furnace would have the lower estimated operating cost under those conditions.
Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace at a Glance
| Factor | Heat Pump Electric | Gas Furnace Natural Gas |
|---|---|---|
| Energy source | Heat Pump Electricity | Gas Furnace Natural Gas |
| Primary efficiency metric | Heat Pump COP HSPF / HSPF2 may also describe seasonal performance | Gas Furnace AFUE |
| Main operating-cost driver | Heat Pump Electricity rate + operating conditions (outdoor temp) | Gas Furnace Natural-gas rate |
| Cooling capability | Heat Pump Heating + Cooling | Gas Furnace — Heating only Separate AC required |
| Fuel dependency | Heat Pump Electricity | Gas Furnace Natural gas + electricity controls / blower |
| Which costs less? | Depends on local energy prices, system efficiency and heating conditions. Depends on your inputs | |
Cost Per Unit of Useful Heat
It is impossible to directly compare the price of a kilowatt-hour of electricity to a therm of natural gas. They contain completely different amounts of raw energy and are utilized by HVAC systems in entirely different ways.
By standardizing both energy sources into a unified metric—cost per MMBtu of useful heat—the calculator strips away the confusion. This common-unit comparison reveals the actual price you are paying to maintain warmth inside your living space, accounting for all conversion losses and efficiency gains.
Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace: Pros and Cons
⚡ Electric Heat Pump
- Serves as both a heating and cooling system
- Can deliver multiple units of heat for each unit of electricity consumed
- No on-site combustion exhaust during normal heat-pump operation
- Efficiency and heating capacity can vary with outdoor conditions
🔥 Natural Gas Furnace
- Heating capacity is generally less sensitive to outdoor temperature than an air-source heat pump
- Strict natural-gas dependency; requires grid power for the blower
- No cooling function; thermodynamic losses via combustion and exhaust
Dual Fuel Systems
A dual-fuel system combines an electric heat pump with a backup gas furnace. Its control system or thermostat can switch between them according to outdoor temperature and the system's configured balance-point or control strategy.
Note: This calculator estimates the annual operating cost of running exclusively a heat pump vs exclusively a gas furnace. It does not dynamically model hour-by-hour dual-fuel crossover switching, as that requires detailed hyper-local climate modeling.
What Affects Heat Pump and Gas Furnace Costs?
Several real-world factors influence your ultimate heating bill:
⚡ Energy Rates
Local electricity and natural-gas prices are major drivers of relative operating cost.
⚙ System Efficiency
COP and AFUE determine how much useful heat is delivered from the energy purchased.
🌡 Climate & Heating Demand
Climate, home size and heating requirements influence total seasonal energy demand.
When comparing system sizes, you can convert BTU/hr to kilowatts using the Power & Energy Unit Converter.
🏠 Insulation
Better insulation can reduce the heating requirement for either system.
Our calculation engine accounts for flat utility rates, seasonal COP, AFUE, home size, and climate assumptions. It does not model time-of-use electricity tariffs, air duct leakage, or highly specific thermostat setback behaviors.
Worked Example
🔥 Gas Furnace
⚡ Heat Pump
Sources & Calculation Assumptions
📐 Energy Conversions
The calculator standardizes energy into BTUs using accepted conversion factors:
- 1 therm = 100,000 BTU
- 1 kWh ≈ 3,412 BTU
🧮 Calculation Model
The calculator converts raw energy prices into a common cost-per-useful-heat basis (MMBtu) and adjusts using system efficiency:
- Heat pump → COP
- Gas furnace → AFUE
🌎 Regional Rate Estimates
The pre-filled utility rates are regional estimates/defaults where applicable. We strongly advise users to replace them with their own actual utility rates from a recent bill, as actual utility rates generally improve personalization.
ⓘ Assumptions & Limitations
Estimates are based on theoretical energy requirements. The tool assumes a constant seasonal COP for heat pumps and does not model hour-by-hour weather variation. Real-world bills are also influenced by building characteristics, user behaviour, and the limitations of simplified heating-demand estimation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper to run: a heat pump or a gas furnace?
How do I calculate heat pump vs gas furnace operating cost?
What is better, a gas furnace or a heat pump?
At what temperature does a gas furnace become cheaper than a heat pump?
Do heat pumps use a lot of electricity?
What is the efficiency difference between a heat pump and a gas furnace?
What does COP mean for a heat pump?
What does AFUE mean for a gas furnace?
What are the pros and cons of a heat pump vs gas furnace?
Does a heat pump cost more to install than a gas furnace?
Can a dual-fuel system use both a heat pump and gas furnace?
How accurate is the Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace Cost Calculator?
Explore More Tools
Does your home use too much electricity?
Find out exactly where your electricity goes and how to reduce your bill.