Heat Pump Savings Calculator
Compare a year of heating with a heat pump against gas, oil, propane or electric baseboard using your own fuel use and prices, with payback and CO2 change.
The interactive tool loads here when JavaScript runs.
About this toolWhat is the Heat Pump Savings Calculator?
The Heat Pump Savings Calculator starts from what you already know: how much gas, oil, propane or electricity your home burns for heat each year and what you pay for it. It converts that into the heat your home actually needs, then works out how much electricity a heat pump would use to deliver the same heat, what it would cost, how long the installation would take to pay back, and the change in CO₂.
It is deliberately honest about the result. With US average prices from the EIA's October 2026 outlook, a heat pump with a seasonal COP of 2.8 saves about $1,670 a year against heating oil and about $1,650 against electric baseboards, but costs about $146 a year more than an 80% gas furnace burning 600 therms at $1.40. The tool shows the break-even electricity price (15.3 cents in that gas case) so you can see how close it is.
A sensitivity table shows the yearly saving at COPs from 2 to 4, because the heat pump's real seasonal efficiency in your climate is the biggest unknown.
- Gas, oil, propane and electric resistance baselines
- Heat demand from fuel bills or a known heat load
- Seasonal COP or HSPF2 input with backup heat share
- Payback, break-even prices and cost per kWh of heat
- CO₂e comparison and a COP sensitivity table
How to use the Heat Pump Savings Calculator
- Choose your current fuel. Typical defaults for unit, price and efficiency fill in and can be changed.
- Enter how much fuel you use for heating a year (winter bills minus summer use for gas) or, if you know it, the heat load in kWh.
- Enter the heat pump's seasonal COP, or switch to HSPF2 and enter the rating, plus the share of heat from backup strips.
- Enter your electricity price, the installed cost and any rebates, and pick your grid region for CO₂.
- Read the yearly costs, saving, payback, break-even prices and the COP sensitivity table.
Worked examples
Replacing heating oil
Input
550 gallons at $5.40, 83% efficient; heat pump COP 2.8, 5% backup, $0.18/kWh, $14,000
Output
Oil $2,970/yr; heat pump 7,214 kWh, $1,298/yr; saves $1,672; payback 8.4 years; 3.1 t CO₂e less
Oil heat costs 16 cents per kWh of delivered heat; the heat pump delivers it for 7 cents.
Replacing a gas furnace
Input
600 therms at $1.40, 80% AFUE; same heat pump
Output
Gas $840/yr; heat pump $986/yr; no payback at these prices; 1.26 t CO₂e less
The heat pump wins on running cost only if electricity is below 15.3 cents per kWh or gas above $1.64 a therm.
Replacing electric baseboards
Input
15,000 kWh of resistance heat at $0.18
Output
$2,700 now vs $1,051 with the heat pump; saves $1,649; payback 8.5 years
Resistance heat has a COP of 1, so even a modest heat pump cuts the bill by more than half.
Background and insight
The useful heat delivered by your current system is fuel used x energy per unit x efficiency. Energy contents come from the EIA: a therm is 100,000 Btu (29.31 kWh), a gallon of heating oil 138,500 Btu (40.59 kWh), a gallon of propane 91,452 Btu (26.80 kWh), and natural gas averages 1,036 Btu per cubic foot. Efficiency is the AFUE on the furnace or boiler label: about 80% for a standard gas furnace, 90% to 98% for condensing models, and 100% for electric resistance.
A heat pump moves heat rather than making it, so it delivers more heat than the electricity it uses. The ratio over a heating season is the seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP). US ratings are given as HSPF2 in Btu of heat per watt-hour of electricity; dividing by 3.412 converts it to an average COP, so HSPF2 8.1 is about 2.4. HSPF2 is calculated for a moderate climate (DOE region IV), and real seasonal COP is lower in very cold places and higher in mild ones. On the coldest days many systems use electric resistance backup strips, which run at COP 1; the backup share setting accounts for that.
Payback is the net installed cost divided by the yearly saving. Federal incentives changed in 2025: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended the section 25C energy efficient home improvement credit for property placed in service after 31 December 2025, so the incentives field defaults to zero. Many states and utilities still offer rebates. CO₂ uses EPA Emission Factors Hub 2025 factors for the fuels and your eGRID region's rate for electricity.
Common use cases
Deciding on a heat pump
Get a running-cost answer from your own bills before talking to installers.
Replacing an old furnace or boiler
Compare a like-for-like replacement with switching fuels when the old system fails.
Checking an installer's savings claim
Put the quoted COP and price in and see whether the promised savings hold up.
Comparing fuels
See the cost per kWh of delivered heat for gas, oil, propane and electricity side by side.
Tips and limitations
- For gas, subtract a summer month's use times 12 from the yearly total to remove water heating and cooking.
- Ask installers for the expected seasonal COP in your climate, not the rated COP at 47 °F, which is higher.
- A heat pump also replaces your air conditioner. If you need a new AC anyway, count only the extra cost of the heat pump.
- Time-of-use or heat pump tariffs can change the answer; use your expected winter average price.
Frequently asked questions
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than a gas furnace?
It depends on the price ratio of electricity to gas. With an 80% furnace and a seasonal COP of 2.8, the heat pump is cheaper when electricity costs less than about 11 times the price of a therm divided by 100. At $1.40 per therm that is about 15 cents per kWh.
How much does a heat pump save over oil heat?
Usually a lot. At $5.40 a gallon and 83% efficiency, oil heat costs about 16 cents per kWh delivered, against about 7 cents for a COP 2.8 heat pump on 18-cent electricity, so a home burning 550 gallons saves about $1,670 a year.
What is a good seasonal COP for a heat pump?
Seasonal COPs of 2.5 to 3.5 are common for modern air-source heat pumps in moderate climates, lower in very cold regions and higher for ground-source systems. The calculator's table shows how savings change across that range.
How do I convert HSPF2 to COP?
Divide by 3.412, the number of Btu in a watt-hour. HSPF2 7.5, the federal minimum for split heat pumps, is a COP of 2.2; HSPF2 9 is about 2.6.
Does the federal tax credit still apply to heat pumps?
The section 25C credit ended for property placed in service after 31 December 2025. Check your state energy office and utility for current rebates.
How much backup heat will my heat pump use?
It depends on sizing and climate. A heat pump sized for your design temperature may use almost none; an undersized one in a cold climate can rely on strips for 10% or more of the season. Enter an estimate and watch how sensitive the result is.
Does a heat pump always reduce CO2?
On the US average grid it does in every case the calculator's defaults cover, including against an 80% gas furnace (3.19 t down to 1.93 t a year). On the highest-emitting grids, such as Hawaii and Puerto Rico, a heat pump can roughly match propane, so choose your eGRID region to see your own result.
Is there an in-depth guide to the Heat Pump Savings Calculator?
Yes. “Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace: Running Costs and Payback” covers the background, how it works, common pitfalls and worked examples. Read the full guide.
People also search for
- heat pump vs gas furnace cost per year
- heat pump vs oil heating savings
- heat pump vs propane running cost
- heat pump vs electric baseboard savings
- is a heat pump cheaper than gas to run
- heat pump payback period calculator
- break even electricity price for heat pump
- hspf2 to cop conversion
Related Tools You May Like
Free, in-browser tools that pair well with this one.