Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Idaho
In Idaho, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $783.76 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $3,818.21 with electric resistance heat and $1,527.28 with a heat pump. At these prices gas is the cheapest of the three, $743.53 a year under a heat pump.
State data
What Idaho pays
- Electricity
- 13.4¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $0.74/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 5,800 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
Idaho pays 13.4¢/kWh for electricity, 26% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 5th-lowest of the 51 rates on this site. At $0.74/therm, Idaho is in the lowest gas band on this site ($1.10/therm or less): $8.04 per MMBtu of furnace heat. Idaho is in IECC climate zone 5, with 5,800 heating degree-days a year; the heat pump line uses a seasonal COP of 2.5.
Prices are statewide averages. Type the rate and gas price from your own bill into the calculator above to replace them.
How homes here heat
Gas furnaces and cheap fuel in Idaho
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 61% · electricity 26% · propane 6% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 74% · central heat pump not reported · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 53%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,520 a year, of which $476 on space heating (31%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 69% of natural gas use · 15% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Natural gas is the backbone of home heating in Idaho. The 2020 RECS counted about 400,000 homes, 61% of the state's 0.66 million, burning gas as their main heating fuel, the 17th-highest share of the 50 states with a figure and above the national 51%. Electricity is the main fuel in 26% of homes, under the US 34%, and propane in 6%, the 17th-highest propane share of the 35 states that report one. The survey has too few oil-heated homes here to report a share.
The hardware follows the fuel. A furnace is the main system in 74% of Idaho homes, the 13th-highest furnace share, against 60% nationwide. The survey does not publish a central heat pump share for Idaho, so the state's heat pump count is not something this page can tell you. Just over half of households, 53%, keep a second heater as well.
Bills are on the low side. A typical household spent $1,520 on all its energy, the 6th-lowest total of any state, and $476 of that went to space heating, 31% of the bill against 26% for the US. Winter is longer than average and the fuel is cheap, and those two facts roughly cancel in the heating line.
EIA RECS 2020, state tables: shares of all occupied homes in the state and average spending per household in the survey year. "Not reported" means EIA's sample was too small to publish a figure.
Gas vs electric heat
B04Scenario A
Sets the electricity rate. Pick US average if you're not sure.
From EIA for Idaho. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 13.4¢/kWh · Idaho · EIA, August 2026 · gas $0.74/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 5,800 heating degree-days · climate zone 5 (data as of 2026-10-25) ·
On the furnace label: 0.80 older, 0.90–0.98 condensing.
Gas furnace costs less per year by
Electric resistance: $3,818.21 a year · Gas furnace: $783.76 a year, for 97.4 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 97.4 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $39.19
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $8.04
- Electric resistance, per year
- $3,818.21
- Gas furnace, per year
- $783.76
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$3,034.45
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 13.4¢/kWh · gas $0.74/therm · propane $2.30/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $1,527.28
Cost by month, in season only
The yearly cost spread across the months using a typical heating degree-day pattern from NOAA 1991–2020 normals. Months outside the season show $0.
Estimate. Formula and sources are under “How it works”. Change any input; the result updates as you type.
2026 note: The federal 25C and 25D tax credits ended for installations after Dec 31, 2025. Our numbers use 2026 rules. State rebates, HEAR/HOMES programs and utility programs may still apply.
Worked example
Worked example: 2,000 sq ft in Idaho
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Idaho needs about 97.4 MMBtu of heat a year (5,800 heating degree-days). At $0.74/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $8.04 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 13.4¢/kWh costs $39.19, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $15.67. The year comes to $783.76 on gas, $3,818.21 on resistance heat and $1,527.28 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 2.5, the heat pump's heat still costs more than $0.74/therm gas in Idaho.
Load = sq ft × 0.35 × heating degree-days × 24 ÷ 1,000,000. Gas $/MMBtu = $/therm ÷ 0.1 ÷ 0.92. Resistance $/MMBtu = $/kWh × 293.07. Heat pump = resistance ÷ COP.
What the numbers say
What the numbers say in Idaho
Gas in Idaho costs $0.74/therm, the lowest residential price in the country and 50% below the US average of $1.48/therm. Electricity is cheap too, at 13.4¢/kWh (the 5th-lowest rate), yet cheap power cannot keep up with gas this cheap. For a heat pump to tie with gas, the rate would have to fall to 6.9¢/kWh, against a state average of 13.4¢/kWh. That is a wide gap, and it is the opposite of what the low electric rate would suggest on its own.
The climate adds to it. Idaho logs 5,800 heating degree-days, 29% more than the US average of 4,500, and sits in climate zone 5, where the calculator uses a seasonal COP of 2.5. Colder hours pull a heat pump's efficiency down just when the house needs the most heat, while a furnace burns at the same efficiency in any weather.
Where the comparison turns is off the gas network. Propane homes, about 40,000 of them, and electric-heated homes, about 170,000, are not choosing against $0.74/therm gas. For a house on baseboards, the example home's resistance bill of $3,818.21 drops to $1,527.28 with a heat pump. For a propane house, the heat pump vs propane and oil calculator puts your tank price against your power rate.
The survey's $476 a year is an average over every home and fuel; the calculator prices a single 2,000 sq ft house, so its figures run higher. To test your own house, enter the price per therm from your gas bill and the per-kWh rate from your power bill above. If a new furnace is on the table, furnace size helps you avoid buying more capacity than the house needs.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Idaho, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Idaho: $3,818.21 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $3,034.45 more than gas. Between gas ($783.76) and a heat pump ($1,527.28), gas comes out $743.53 a year ahead; a heat pump would match it at about 6.9¢/kWh. These are estimates at 13.4¢/kWh and $0.74/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Idaho?
About 1,059 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Idaho's 5,800 heating degree-days. That averages 88 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $0.74/therm, the year costs an estimated $783.76.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Idaho?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 13.4¢/kWh, that heat costs $39.19 per MMBtu in Idaho, against $8.04 from a 92% gas furnace at $0.74/therm, 4.9 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $3,818.21 a year against $783.76.
With electricity this cheap in Idaho, why does gas still win?
Because gas here is cheaper still. At $0.74/therm, a therm of gas delivers heat for $8.04 per million Btu after furnace losses; a heat pump at 13.4¢/kWh and a COP of 2.5 delivers the same heat for $15.67. The two would only meet at an electric rate near 6.9¢/kWh. Your own gas price can be higher than the state average, so check both lines of your bills.
I heat with propane in Idaho. Is a heat pump cheaper?
The gas comparison on this page does not apply to you. Propane is the main fuel in about 40,000 homes here, and their choice is propane against electricity at 13.4¢/kWh, not against pipeline gas. Propane prices vary by dealer and season, so put your own delivered price per gallon into the propane vs electric calculator to see which side wins for your house.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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