Gas vs Electric Heat
Compare the fuel cost of gas, resistance and heat-pump heating.
About Gas vs Electric Heat
Gas is measured in therms at furnace efficiency, while electric resistance converts the BTU load to kilowatt-hours. A heat pump divides that electricity by its COP. Gas prices and electric rates vary, so a side-by-side comparison reveals whether a heat pump actually beats the local gas bill.
Formula
Gas vs Electric Heat
Gas = therms / efficiency x price; electric = kWh x rate (/ COP for heat pump)
- COP
- Coefficient of performance; heat delivered per unit of electricity
Worked example
With the default values below, Gas vs Electric Heat returns Gas Heating Cost of $195.65. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Monthly heat neededminimum 0 million BTU
- 15 million BTU
- Gas priceminimum 0 $/therm
- 1.2 $/therm
- Furnace efficiencyaccepts 30–100 %
- 92 %
- Electric rateminimum 0 $/kWh
- 0.15 $/kWh
- Heat pump COPminimum 1 COP
- 3 COP
Results
- Gas Heating Cost
- $195.65
- Electric Resistance Cost
- $659.44
- Heat Pump Cost
- $219.81
- Savings vs Gas
- $0.00
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Gas vs Electric Heat
- 3Gas Heating Cost= 195.65
- 4Electric Resistance Cost= 659.44
- 5Heat Pump Cost= 219.81
- 6Savings vs Gas= 0.00
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Gas vs Electric Heat calculated?
Gas = therms / efficiency x price; electric = kWh x rate (/ COP for heat pump) Gas is measured in therms at furnace efficiency, while electric resistance converts the BTU load to kilowatt-hours. A heat pump divides that electricity by its COP.
Why does Gas vs Electric Heat matter?
Gas prices and electric rates vary, so a side-by-side comparison reveals whether a heat pump actually beats the local gas bill.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Monthly heat needed, Gas price, Furnace efficiency, Electric rate, Heat pump COP. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.