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Heat pump cost to run

Heat pump cost to run is the electricity it uses for heating and cooling times your price per kWh. A home that needs 40 million Btu of heat and 3 tons of cooling for 1,000 hours uses about 7,851 kWh a year with a minimum-efficiency heat pump, about $1,416 at the U.S. average of 18.04¢ per kWh (EIA, Sep 2025–Aug 2026).

By the Energy Prices by State team · Updated · 3 sources

Heat pump running cost from your current heating

EIA prices

Tell it what you heat with now and how much you used last winter; the heat pump row is your heating cost after switching.

Try:
unitsTherms of gas, gallons of propane or oil, or kWh. From your bills, heating months only.
%
$/therm
$/gal
$/gal
¢/kWh
%
%
%
Federal minimum for new split heat pumps is 7.5. Cold-climate models list HSPF2 on the AHRI certificate.

Cheapest way to heat this home

Natural gas furnace

$747 a year for 45.0 million Btu of heat

Same heat, each system (new equipment at the efficiencies entered)
SystemFuelPer yearPer MMBtu
Natural gas furnace474 therms$747$16.61
Heat pump5,625 kWh$1,015$22.55
Propane furnace518 gal$1,464$32.53
Heating oil furnace382 gal$2,261$50.24
Electric resistance13,189 kWh$2,379$52.87

Your natural gas furnace cost about $789 a year at these prices. A natural gas furnace would deliver the same heat for $747, about $42 less. The heat pump is figured at a seasonal COP of 2.3 (HSPF2 8.0).

Heating season only. Cooling cost is in the tables below. For a single appliance view, the kWh calculator works with any wattage.

On this page
  1. How to calculate heat pump electricity use
  2. Heat pump cost by state
  3. Heat pump running cost by efficiency
  4. Heat pump vs the fuel it replaces
  5. FAQ
  6. Sources

How to calculate heat pump electricity use

Heat pump electricity use is heat needed ÷ HSPF2 for heating, plus cooling delivered ÷ SEER2 for cooling. HSPF2 and SEER2 are both in Btu per watt-hour, the federal test ratings listed in the product's specifications and AHRI certificate.[cfr430]

  • Heating kWh = million Btu of heat × 1,000,000 ÷ (HSPF2 × 1,000)
  • Cooling kWh = tons × 12,000 Btu/h × full-load cooling hours ÷ (SEER2 × 1,000)
  • Cost = (heating kWh + cooling kWh) × price per kWh

Worked example. 40 MMBtu ÷ 7.5 = 5,333 kWh for heat. 3 tons × 12,000 × 1,000 h ÷ 14.3 = 2,517 kWh for cooling. 7,851 kWh × $0.1804 = $1,416 a year, about $118 a month. The 40 MMBtu and 1,000 hours are example inputs; your heat need comes from your current fuel bills, which the calculator above converts for you, and 1 kWh = 3,412 Btu.[btu]

Heat pump cost by state

The same example home costs $970 a year to run in North Dakota and $3,476 in Hawaii, only because of the price of electricity. The table uses each state's 12-month average residential rate.[eia861m]

Yearly heat pump electricity cost, example home (40 MMBtu heat, 3 tons × 1,000 h cooling, HSPF2 7.5, SEER2 14.3), state rates Sep 2025–Aug 2026
State¢/kWhHeatingCoolingTotal/yrPer month
Texas15.98¢$852$402$1,255$105
Florida15.41¢$822$388$1,210$101
Georgia15.17¢$809$382$1,191$99
North Carolina14.79¢$789$372$1,161$97
Ohio18.41¢$982$463$1,445$120
Pennsylvania20.86¢$1,113$525$1,638$136
New York28.60¢$1,525$720$2,245$187
California32.34¢$1,725$814$2,539$212
Washington14.20¢$757$357$1,115$93
Minnesota16.28¢$868$410$1,278$107

Real homes differ: a Minnesota house needs far more heat than a Georgia house and a Texas house far more cooling, so put your own fuel use into the calculator. The state rates for all 50 states are on electricity rates by state.

Heat pump running cost by efficiency

Every step up in HSPF2 and SEER2 cuts kWh in proportion. The federal minimums for a new split-system heat pump are HSPF2 7.5 and SEER2 14.3.[cfr430] At the U.S. average rate the example home saves:

Example home at 18.04¢/kWh by heat pump rating
RatingHeating kWhCooling kWhCost/yrSaved vs minimum
HSPF2 7.5 / SEER2 14.35,3332,517$1,416$0
HSPF2 8.5 / SEER2 164,7062,250$1,255$161
HSPF2 9.5 / SEER2 184,2112,000$1,120$296
HSPF2 10.5 / SEER2 203,8101,800$1,012$404

Heat pump vs the fuel it replaces

Whether the switch saves money depends on what you heat with now. At U.S. averages a heat pump beats heating oil and electric baseboard by a wide margin and propane in most surveyed states, but costs more to run than a natural gas furnace; the state-by-state answer for gas is on heat pump vs furnace cost. Fuel prices are on heating oil prices and propane prices. To see what a single space heater or auxiliary heat strip uses, try the kWh calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to run a heat pump?

About $1,416 a year ($118 a month) for a home needing 40 MMBtu of heat and 3 tons of cooling at the U.S. average of 18.04¢/kWh. Your heat need and rate change this a lot.

How many kWh does a heat pump use?

Heat needed ÷ HSPF2 plus cooling ÷ SEER2. The example home uses 5,333 kWh for heat and 2,517 for cooling a year.

Does a more efficient heat pump pay off?

Going from HSPF2 7.5 to 9.5 saves about $296 a year in the example at U.S. average prices; compare that with the price difference of the units.

Which state is cheapest to run a heat pump in?

North Dakota, where electricity averages 12.35¢/kWh.

Sources

  1. 10 CFR 430.32, Energy and water conservation standards: split-system heat pumps SEER2 14.3 / HSPF2 7.5 (from Jan 1, 2023); non-weatherized gas furnaces 80% AFUE, 95% from Dec 18, 2028; non-weatherized oil furnaces 83% AFUE · Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (U.S. Department of Energy rules), version of Nov 1, 2026
  2. British thermal units (Btu): heat content of electricity (3,412 Btu/kWh), natural gas, heating oil (138,500 Btu/gal) and propane (91,452 Btu/gal) · U.S. Energy Information Administration, Energy Explained, accessed Nov 14, 2026
  3. Monthly Electric Utility Sales and Revenue Data (Form EIA-861M), by state and sector, data through August 2026 (sales_revenue.xlsx) · U.S. Energy Information Administration, released Oct 2026; 2026 months preliminary