Translate your current fuel bill into useful heat, then price the same heating from a heat pump at your electricity rate and climate-appropriate seasonal performance.
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Translate a current heating bill into delivered heat, then estimate what the same useful heat would cost from an electric heat pump at your local rate.
Instant result · no email requiredFuel bills may include water heating, cooking, fees or taxes. Performance changes with outdoor temperature and equipment design; use a seasonal COP, not a mild-day marketing figure.
A heat pump moves heat instead of creating it with electric resistance. A seasonal coefficient of performance of 2.8 means about 2.8 units of heat are delivered for each unit of electricity across the modeled season. That can produce large savings against electric baseboard, oil or propane, while cheap natural gas can be a closer comparison.
The tool starts with current annual space-heating spend and fuel price to estimate fuel quantity. It applies the current system efficiency to estimate useful heat delivered to the home, then divides that useful heat by the entered heat-pump seasonal COP. Finally it prices the required electricity at your local rate.
Use space-heating cost only where possible. A gas bill may also include water heating, cooking and fixed charges; an oil delivery can span more than one heating season. If those items remain in the number, the tool will overstate the heat demand and the heat-pump cost.
Natural gas is entered per therm, oil and propane per gallon, and electric systems per kilowatt-hour. The form changes its starting price and efficiency when the fuel changes, but those are only editable examples. Replace them with a current bill. For an older heat pump, the “current efficiency” represents seasonal COP; for electric resistance it should be 1.0.
Fixed charges usually remain even if another gas appliance keeps the account open, so excluding them produces a cleaner marginal comparison. If a heat pump would allow the gas account to close entirely, calculate that fixed saving separately and confirm what other appliances must change.
A mild-day COP is not a winter average. Capacity and efficiency change with outdoor temperature, defrost, indoor setpoint, supply temperature, backup heat and duct condition. Cold-climate equipment may retain capacity better, but the selected model still needs its performance tables checked against the home’s design temperature.
ENERGY STAR’s air-source heat-pump guidance distinguishes cold-climate equipment and stresses correct selection and operation. Ask the contractor for rated output at local design conditions, the balance point, backup-heat staging and the load calculation—not only the nominal tonnage.
Compare installed cost for the same comfort scope. One proposal may include duct corrections, electrical upgrades, a communicating thermostat and backup heat while another excludes them. Enter only the extra installed price of the heat-pump option into the payback field. The calculator then divides that premium by estimated annual savings.
Simple payback omits financing, maintenance, future rates and replacement timing. If the existing furnace is already due for replacement, the relevant premium may be the difference between two new proposals—not the entire heat-pump project. If a working system would otherwise remain for years, the full early-replacement economics matter.
Review current heat-pump installation cost ranges, compare the system choice in heat pump vs air conditioner, and use the HVAC quote checker on every proposal. State, utility and local incentives vary by address and opening date; verify them with the program administrator instead of treating an advertised rebate as cash in hand.
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