HVACBird Calculator
Heat Pump vs. Electric Resistance vs. Gas Heating Cost
Compare the operating energy needed to deliver the same amount of heat. You control the utility prices and efficiency assumptions, so the result is a scenario you can inspect rather than a hidden national-average estimate.
Scenario result
Heat pump is lowest in this scenario
Operating energy only. Installation and fixed utility charges are excluded.
Heat pump
$938
per year
- Energy use
- 5,861 kWh
- Cost / delivered MMBtu
- $16
Electric resistance
$2,813
per year
- Energy use
- 17,584 kWh
- Cost / delivered MMBtu
- $47
Gas furnace
$947
per year
- Energy use
- 632 therms
- Cost / delivered MMBtu
- $16
Heat-pump savings vs. resistance
+$1,876
Positive means the heat pump costs less to operate than electric resistance for the same delivered heat.
Heat-pump savings vs. gas
+$10
Positive means the heat pump costs less to operate than the gas furnace in this scenario.
Break-even energy prices
Gas price where gas and heat pump tie
$1.48 / therm
Your entered gas rate is $1.50 / therm.
Electricity price where heat pump and gas tie
$0.162 / kWh
Your entered electricity rate is $0.160 / kWh.
Heat pump
kWh = delivered BTU ÷ (3,412.14 × COP)
COP is entered directly because real heat-pump efficiency changes with outdoor temperature, compressor speed, defrost, and the equipment itself.
Electric resistance
kWh = delivered BTU ÷ 3,412.14
This treats electric resistance heat as converting electrical energy to useful heat at the point of use without heat-pump multiplication.
Gas furnace
therms = delivered BTU ÷ (100,000 × AFUE)
AFUE is entered as the share of fuel energy assumed to become useful seasonal heat in this simplified comparison.
What the calculator does not include
It does not estimate installation cost, financing, rebates, fixed customer charges, demand charges, service fees, maintenance, equipment life, duct losses, backup heat, or future energy-price escalation.
It also does not predict a building's annual heat requirement. If you do not have a utility-history or load-based estimate, treat the MMBtu input as a scenario variable and test a range.
Why these assumptions are reasonable
The U.S. Department of Energy explains that heat pumps move heat rather than generate all delivered heat directly, which is why they can use substantially less electricity than electric resistance heating. DOE also publishes current air-source heat-pump efficiency guidance using metrics such as HSPF2 and COP.