Heating Cost Calculator | Oil vs. Gas vs. Propane vs. Electricity Cost

Typical Cost To Install New Furnace
Low
$4,160
Average
$4,872
High
$5,730
See costs in your area

Calculate the cost of heating your home with Gas, Oil, Propane & Electricity

Get heating costs estimate in your state, for Oil, Natural Gas, Propane, and Electricity, using a Hot Air Furnace, Boiler (standard & condensing), Air Source & Geothermal Heat Pump.

NOTE: Our calculator provides the most updated local energy costs in your state, which are pre populated in the price fields. However, your actual cost may be different, depending on your supplier.

Jan 2023 Heating Costs Update: Due to unprecedented recent increase in cost of all heating fuel types, average cost of Natural Gas has increased by as much as $0.50 per Therm, Heating Oil is around $5/gallon & Propane has gone up by $0.90/gallon. Cost of electricity has gone up by $0.02 – $0.13 per kWh. On average, this represents between 10-30% increase in total heating costs.

Calculate Heating Costs & Energy Savings in Virginia

sq. ft.
$/Therm **
$/Gallon
$/Gallon
$/kWh
Cost of New Boiler:
Low End
$0
Mid Range
$0
High End
$0
Heating BTUs (annual): 0 Heating Cost with Natural Gas:
Cheapest Heating Fuel:

See costs in your area Start Here - Enter Your Zip Code


Heating costs updated on March 1, 2023.

RESULTS: You will get a full season (6 months, from mid-October through mid-April) cost of heating your home, cheapest fuel for your heating system type, as well as estimated prices for replacing / installing a new heating system.

To get an accurate cost estimate, set your house square footage, adjust local prices for Heating Oil, Natural Gas, Propane, and Electricity, choose your heating equipment type, home insulation grade & efficiency rating of your heating system.

¹ Results for electric strip (baseboard) heating are calculator based on your home's Heat Load, excluding any flue gas, duct & radiator loses, which are present in hydronic and forced air heating systems (boilers, furnaces, Geothermal Heat Pumps), since nominal efficiency of electric resistance heating is 100%, and is calculated at 3412 BTUs / 1 kW.

² Results for Heat Pump presume a 2.9 COP Ductless Heat Pump system, which is typical for multi-zone Hyper Heat systems from Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Daikin, LG, and other top tier manufacturers, and is calculated at 9895 BTUS / 1 kW.

What is COP? COP or Coefficient of Performance is a fancy acronym for a multiplier of efficiency of a HEAT PUMP system VS Resistive Electric Baseboard heating.

Example: Resistive Electric Heater produces 3412 BTUs of Heat for 1 kW (1000 Watts) of power usage. A heating system with 3.0 COP will provide 3 times the heat output for each 1 kW of electricity that it uses. In our case 3412 * 3 = 10236 BTUs per 1 kW.

Bottom line - a 3 COP heat pump is 3 times as efficient as Electric Baseboards or a space heater!

Here is how much different residential Heating Fuels Cost in your state (Virginia) as well as US Average. Breakdown of Heating Energy Costs, by fuel type: Natural Gas, #2 Fuel Oil (heating oil), Propane, and Electricity.


GasOilPropaneElectricity
US Avg: $1.48 / Therm $4.27 / Gal $2.71 / Gal $0.150 / kWh
Virginia: $1.62 / Therm $4.34 / Gal $3.37 / Gal $0.139 / kWh
Thanks to EIA.gov (US DOE agency) for providing this invaluable, accurate and up-to-date information.


Learn hot to get "Almost Free" heating and cooling when you combine High Efficiency Ductless Heat Pumps (with -15°F Low Temp Heating) and large enough Solar PV array, which is financed with fixed rate loan - your energy savings will in most cases be higher than the loan payment!


Prices above are as follows:
Natural Gas - $/Therm
Heating Oil and Propane - $/Gallon
Electricity - $/kWh.
For natural gas priced in CCF or MCF, see below.

* We use a Geolocation to identify your state. However, it's not always accurate. Therefore, you may need to adjust your local prices to correct values (see table at the bottom).

Additionally, prices provided for your state are AVERAGE for your whole state, and may differ greatly from one part of the state to another. We included local prices for your convenience. However, for accuracy purposes, it is ideal for end user to correct these prices to what local suppliers actually charge!

To get your accurate rate, refer to you Electric, and Gas (or Oil/Propane) bill.

How to use Heating Fuel Cost Calculator


US Energy Costs table by State:

Here is the price table of Heating Fuels such as Natural Gas, Fuel Oil, Propane and Electricity, for each state, including Washington DC, AL and HI, as well as US average.

Natural Gas prices are in THERMS, which is an equivalent of about 100,000 BTUs, but can easily be converted to 100/1000 Cu. Ft. See how to do it below the price table.

NOTE for MA Residents: We have adjusted Massachusetts electric rate from $0.246 to $0.305 / kWh (20% increase), which went into effect on Jan 1, 2022, per EverSource rates page.

Gas #2 Fuel Oil Propane Electricity
Alabama$1.83/therm$3.90/gal$3.40/gal$0.132/kWh
Alaska$1.06/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.221/kWh
Arizona$1.64/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.126/kWh
Arkansas$1.80/therm$3.90/gal$2.61/gal$0.112/kWh
California$2.28/therm$5.23/gal$5.11/gal$0.245/kWh
Colorado$1.31/therm$4.43/gal$2.53/gal$0.142/kWh
Connecticut$1.88/therm$4.07/gal$3.80/gal$0.235/kWh
Delaware$1.70/therm$4.71/gal$3.42/gal$0.146/kWh
District of Columbia$1.72/therm$4.64/gal$2.90/gal$0.150/kWh
Florida$2.66/therm$4.16/gal$4.67/gal$0.142/kWh
Georgia$1.51/therm$4.16/gal$3.07/gal$0.120/kWh
Hawaii$4.60/therm$5.23/gal$5.06/gal$0.448/kWh
Idaho$0.87/therm$4.43/gal$2.78/gal$0.105/kWh
Illinois$1.22/therm$3.63/gal$2.14/gal$0.162/kWh
Indiana$1.14/therm$3.91/gal$2.60/gal$0.156/kWh
Iowa$1.12/therm$3.47/gal$1.94/gal$0.112/kWh
Kansas$1.38/therm$3.99/gal$2.09/gal$0.134/kWh
Kentucky$1.49/therm$3.82/gal$2.56/gal$0.130/kWh
Louisiana$1.43/therm$3.90/gal$4.16/gal$0.123/kWh
Maine$2.01/therm$4.01/gal$3.34/gal$0.225/kWh
Maryland$1.76/therm$4.43/gal$3.44/gal$0.156/kWh
Massachusetts$2.33/therm$4.29/gal$3.54/gal$0.307/kWh
Michigan$1.20/therm$3.74/gal$2.47/gal$0.178/kWh
Minnesota$1.15/therm$4.30/gal$2.22/gal$0.133/kWh
Mississippi$1.38/therm$3.90/gal$3.12/gal$0.126/kWh
Missouri$1.35/therm$3.99/gal$2.35/gal$0.110/kWh
Montana$1.07/therm$4.43/gal$2.43/gal$0.118/kWh
Nebraska$1.24/therm$3.38/gal$1.90/gal$0.098/kWh
Nevada$1.31/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.150/kWh
New Hampshire$2.49/therm$4.43/gal$3.77/gal$0.309/kWh
New Jersey$1.45/therm$4.49/gal$3.36/gal$0.167/kWh
New Mexico$1.14/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.136/kWh
New York$1.68/therm$4.50/gal$3.41/gal$0.228/kWh
North Carolina$1.66/therm$4.10/gal$3.31/gal$0.119/kWh
North Dakota$1.05/therm$3.99/gal$1.95/gal$0.096/kWh
Ohio$1.14/therm$4.20/gal$2.72/gal$0.141/kWh
Oklahoma$1.21/therm$3.99/gal$2.56/gal$0.112/kWh
Oregon$1.35/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.111/kWh
Pennsylvania$1.55/therm$4.00/gal$2.98/gal$0.179/kWh
Rhode Island$2.01/therm$4.23/gal$3.64/gal$0.275/kWh
South Carolina$1.27/therm$4.16/gal$4.42/gal$0.143/kWh
South Dakota$0.91/therm$3.99/gal$2.14/gal$0.113/kWh
Tennessee$1.17/therm$3.99/gal$3.27/gal$0.123/kWh
Texas$1.61/therm$3.90/gal$2.92/gal$0.143/kWh
Utah$1.18/therm$4.43/gal$2.67/gal$0.105/kWh
Vermont$1.64/therm$4.23/gal$3.42/gal$0.202/kWh
Virginia$1.62/therm$4.34/gal$3.37/gal$0.139/kWh
Washington$1.31/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.100/kWh
West Virginia$1.27/therm$4.16/gal$4.42/gal$0.128/kWh
Wisconsin$1.24/therm$3.60/gal$2.17/gal$0.149/kWh
Wyoming$1.37/therm$4.43/gal$4.69/gal$0.104/kWh
US Average$1.48/therm$4.27/gal$2.71/gal$0.150/kWh

Notes:

** NOTE: If your gas company charges you in units other than therms here are local VA and US average costs for natural gas in other common delevery units:

COMMON Gas measurement units:
CCF = 100 Cubic Ft.
MCF = 1000 Cubic Ft.

Price per CCF (in VA): $1.68
Price per MCF (in VA): $16.85

Price per CCF (US Average): $1.68
Price per MCF (US Average): $16.85

One therm is almost the same as 1 CCF. However, "almost the same" is the key here!

The heat content of Therm is 99976 BTUs, while 1 CCF has 103675.112 BTUs, and 1 MCF has 1036751.12 BTUs.

Typical Cost To Install New Furnace Average: $4,160 - $5,730
See costs in your area

Why Are THERMS, CCF & MCF Important?

Our Heating Cost Calculator uses THERMS to estimate the cost of heating with natural gas. However, since every gas company uses their own units of calculating your cost of gas, it is important that you provide the correct unit cost, to get an accurate estimate.

Basically, there are approximately 3.7% more BTUs in 1 CCF vs 1 Therm, which means that you will need 3.7% fewer CCFs to produce same heat as if you calculated in therms.

Bottom line:

  • If your gas company is charging you CCF you should divide your Cost/CCF by 1.037, and adjust the GAS Price divide your in the calculator.
  • If your gas company is charging you MCF you should divide your Cost/MCF by 10.37, and adjust the GAS Price divide your in the calculator.
  • If you currently do not use Natural Gas, then you don’t need to do anything.


About Leo B

Leo has been a contractor since 2003, specializing in: roofing, siding, general contracting (GC) and residential remodeling. Leo is also a Certified HVAC, Oil & Gas Heating Technician/Installer. In addition to roofing and remodeling, Leo is passionate about Solar, green building and energy conservation, so a lot of my time and energy goes to installing energy efficient heating and cooling systems.


See more about Remodeling Calculator team here


Leave a Comment


7 comments on “Heating Cost Calculator | Oil vs. Gas vs. Propane vs. Electricity Cost

    1. Leo B Post author

      Gary,

      Great question – it is actually pretty simple. Electricity has 3412 BTUs per kWh, and Gas about 99976 per Therm.

      To make numbers less confusing, I will give price per 1000 BTUs.

      Electricity: $0.04132473
      Natural Gas: $0.02650874

      Now on at first glance, it looks like electricity is 56% more expensive, but, the 3412 is how many BTUs you get from a space heater or electric baseboards. Modern ductless heat pumps have average efficiency (COP) between 2.5 and 4+ …

      What this means is you get 2.5x to 4x more BTUs per kWh from a heat pump, compared to electric space heater.

      For example, my favorite brand – Fujitsu, has typical COP for their multi-zone Low Temp Heating models between 3.3 to 4!

      I have a in my house a AOU36RLXFZ1 (3 TON, 4 zone heat pump) which is rated at 3.55 COP for non-ducted installs, which is what I have.
      I also have 9RLS3YH and 09LZAH1 single zone models with 4.1 COP

      What this means in real numbers – instead of $0.04132473 / 1000 BTUs, I get between $0.0103311825 and $0.01377491 which is less than half of natural gas.

      Now, another factor to keep in mind – even the most efficient furnace, with well-insulated ducts – you still lose 15-20% of your heat in the ductwork! So the cost of the heat that stays in your home is closer to $0.3 – $0.4 per 1000 BTUs.

      What this means in real numbers – I have a single zone Fujitsu 09LZAH1 running right now, and it is effectively heating half of my house – 800 s.f. downstairs open space, and residual heat going to upstairs rooms.

      It is set for 86F (because I have a little cold). Thermostat on the other side of the house is showing 78F. Thermostat in a room upstairs shows 76F (the room is directly above my indoor unit, so most of residual heat goes there. Temp outside is 40F.

      Finally the power draw is consistently 1400W .. that is LESS than a single space heater!

      Bottom line – if your electric cost is less than $0.15 / kWh in 2023, it is almost always better to go with a ductless heat pump!

      In my case, as of Dec 2022, my electric cost is $0.3218, and is supposed to increase by 40% in Jan 2023. However, I have solar panels, which cover about 85% of my electricity thorough the year, so I pretty much only pay for lights and fridges and other small appliances, and my AC and Heat is free!

      Reply
  1. Joe Bonanno

    We recently installed a high efficiency Heat pump system from our old oil burner hot water system; we are receiving exorbitant electric bills with 3-9x the kWh usage when compared to prior years; do you have suggestions?

    Reply
    1. Leo B Post author

      @Joe

      Did you install a central heat pump? Like the same as a central AC – sitting in your basement or attic, with a big square condenser/compressor outside?

      Where do you live, and how much you pay for each kWh? Or, what’s a total number of KWHs you used last month, and what was the cost?

      So main problem that I suspect – you have a CENTRAL HEAT PUMP … these puppies are NOT made to replace your main heating system (manufacturers and green-freaks are lying to you) … Here is more on Heat Pump HEATING Efficiency

      Central Heat Pumps are “OK” at heating until about 35-40°F – below that, an ELECTRIC HEAT STRIP turns on… so it is effectively a resistive electric heating, only you also lose anywhere from 10-25% of your heat in the ducts…

      In some cases a central heat pump is paired with a high efficiency gas furnace (if you have gas) … but both must be “communicating” variants, capable of working together … basically they cost more $$

      What you can do:

      #1 – Add a lot of insulation! This is good regardless of next item.
      #2 – Install large solar system. Depending on where you live, you payback will be between 4-8 years. For me, payback should be less than 4 years, as in Massachusetts where I live, electric costs increased over 60% in 1 year … we now pay over $0.30 per kWh, and I have 15.4 KW of solar.

      In many situation, your financing cost will be LOWER than cost of electricity. DO NOT do “Solar Lease” or PPA (power purchasing agreement) – those are total scams.

      #3 – contact your Electric company and change your rate plan to “Electric Heating”.

      Bottom line – without spending some more money, it’s hard to “reduce” costs. But, in my case, when I was planning out my switch from OLD gas furnace to DUCTLESS Heat Pumps + Solar, I ran all the numbers, and excluding costs of Ductless equipment (which I installed myself).

      I will be having almost free heating/cooling/electricity in 3 years. But to get there, I had to:

      A) Cut 15 trees
      B) Replace my roof
      C) Install 15.4 kW solar ($40,300 financed)
      D) Spent months on research and learning the HVAC trade (including going to a trade school, and paying for it out of pocket)
      E) Actually buying and installing all my HVAC equipment

      Good luck

      Reply
  2. Stephen Miller

    I can use either LPgas or Electric heat for our home. What is the formula to compare prices of each to decide which is cheaper to use?

    Reply
  3. Donald W. Stemple

    If I have a 20×20 room. what would it cost to heat that room on the average per month for each heat source, ie – electric, natural gas, fuel oil, propane, wood stove, pellet stove in the state of Maryland or West Virginia

    Reply