Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Indiana
In Indiana, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,114.83 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $4,609.17 with electric resistance heat and $1,843.67 with a heat pump. Gas heat costs $12.07 per MMBtu here, against $19.95 from a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5.
State data
What Indiana pays
- Electricity
- 17.0¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.11/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 5,500 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
Indiana's residential rate of 17.0¢/kWh sits between 15¢ and 20¢/kWh, 6% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. At $1.11/therm, Indiana's gas price is the 38th-highest of the 51 on this site. Indiana logs 5,500 heating degree-days a year (NOAA normals), 22% more than the US average of 4,500.
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
How homes in Indiana heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 65% · electricity 26% · propane 7% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 82% · central heat pump 7% · boiler 3%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 44%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,111 a year, of which $705 on space heating (33%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 78% of natural gas use · 19% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Indiana runs on the furnace: 82% of homes have one, the 6th-highest share among the 50 states, where the US figure is 60%. Boilers are a footnote at 3%. Central heat pumps serve 7%, about 180,000 homes, the 22nd-highest share of the 33 states that report one, next to 13% nationally.
Most of those furnaces burn gas. Gas is the main heating fuel in 65% of Indiana homes, about 1,690,000 in the 2020 count, compared with 51% across the US. Electricity is the main fuel in 26%, against 34%, more than central heat pumps account for, so part of the electric group heats some other way, with baseboards or an electric furnace. Propane is the main fuel for 7%, about 180,000 homes, the 14th-highest share of the 35 states with a reported figure; for oil the survey has no number.
Heating bills here run well above typical. A household spends $2,111 a year on energy, the 11th-highest nationally, and $705 on space heat, the 13th-highest, where the US household spends $519. That heat is 33% of the energy budget, with 26% the national share. Winter loads both meters: 78% of household gas and 19% of household electricity go to heating, against 68% and 12% for the country.
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 Indiana. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 17.0¢/kWh · Indiana · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.11/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 5,500 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: $4,609.17 a year · Gas furnace: $1,114.83 a year, for 92.4 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 92.4 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $49.88
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $12.07
- Electric resistance, per year
- $4,609.17
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,114.83
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$3,494.34
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 17.0¢/kWh · gas $1.11/therm · propane $2.20/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $1,843.67
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 Indiana
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Indiana needs about 92.4 MMBtu of heat a year (5,500 heating degree-days). At $1.11/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $12.07 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 17.0¢/kWh costs $49.88, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $19.95. The year comes to $1,114.83 on gas, $4,609.17 on resistance heat and $1,843.67 on a heat pump. A heat pump would need electricity near 10.3¢/kWh to match gas here.
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 Indiana
Power in Indiana costs 17.0¢/kWh, 6% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. That looks like an opening for heat pumps until you check gas: $1.11/therm, 25% below the US average of $1.48/therm, the 14th-lowest among the states. The discount on gas is the deeper one, and the heat pump's tie point shows it: 10.3¢/kWh, next to the 17.0¢/kWh households here pay on average. For the example house, gas comes out ahead by $728.84 a year.
With 5,500 heating degree-days, 22% more than the US average of 4,500, the season is long enough to turn that per-unit edge into real dollars. The calculator credits a heat pump in climate zone 5 with a seasonal COP of 2.5; a unit that beats that average narrows the gap.
So a household with a working gas furnace has no fuel-cost case to replace it on these averages. What remains is air conditioning and tariff design. If your utility sells a heat-pump or off-peak rate, run that rate through the calculator above and see whether it gets down to 10.3¢/kWh. Replacing a furnace anyway? Size it on furnace size rather than copying the old nameplate, and price both systems over their lifetime on heat pump vs furnace.
The picture flips for electric-heated homes that have no heat pump. Resistance heat at 17.0¢/kWh costs 4.1 times gas for each unit of warmth, and a heat pump supplies that warmth with far fewer kilowatt-hours; in a house with baseboards or an electric furnace, set resistance against a heat pump, not gas against a heat pump. Propane households have a dedicated propane vs electric tool, because gas and electricity are all this one prices.
A word on the survey figure: the $705 RECS reports is an average over all Indiana housing, small flats as well as houses, whatever the fuel, so it will not line up with the calculator's single 2,000 sq ft house. Since space-heating spending here ranks the 13th-highest, the cheapest lever to try first is the thermostat; the thermostat setback calculator estimates what a lower night setting is worth.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Indiana, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Indiana: $4,609.17 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $3,494.34 more than gas. Between gas ($1,114.83) and a heat pump ($1,843.67), gas costs less to run in Indiana, by an estimated $728.84 a year. These are estimates at 17.0¢/kWh and $1.11/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Indiana?
About 1,004 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Indiana's 5,500 heating degree-days. That averages 84 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.11/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,114.83.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Indiana?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 17.0¢/kWh, that heat costs $49.88 per MMBtu in Indiana, against $12.07 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.11/therm, 4.1 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $4,609.17 a year against $1,114.83.
Electricity in Indiana is cheaper than average, so why does gas still win?
Because gas carries the bigger discount. Power is 6% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh; gas is 25% below the US average of $1.48/therm. With the seasonal COP of 2.5 the calculator uses for zone 5, a heat pump undercuts a 92% furnace only when electricity falls below 10.3¢/kWh, and the Indiana average is 17.0¢/kWh. Your bill settles it: put your own two rates in the calculator above, and try any heat-pump or off-peak tariff your utility lists as well.
I heat with propane in Indiana. Which calculator should I use?
Not this one; it prices gas and electricity only. Propane is the main heating fuel in about 180,000 Indiana homes, 7% of the total and the 14th-highest share among the states with a reported figure. Use propane vs electric to set propane against resistance heat and a heat pump at your own prices, and heat pump vs propane and oil for the equipment comparison.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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