Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in New Hampshire
In New Hampshire, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $2,386.15 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $9,934.85 with electric resistance heat and $4,319.50 with a heat pump. In New Hampshire, the gas furnace beats the heat pump on running cost by an estimated $1,933.35 a year.
State data
What New Hampshire pays
- Electricity
- 27.6¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.79/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 7,300 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 6 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.3
Electricity in New Hampshire costs 27.6¢/kWh, 52% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh; every electric option on this page pays that price per kWh. New Hampshire pays $1.79/therm for natural gas, which puts furnace heat at $19.46 per MMBtu. In climate zone 6, with 7,300 heating degree-days, the heat pump line for New Hampshire uses a seasonal COP of 2.3, lower than in warmer zones.
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
Oil, propane and boilers in New Hampshire
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 28% · electricity 9% · propane 15% · fuel oil 40%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 53% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 25%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 47%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,530 a year, of which $981 on space heating (37%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 72% of natural gas use · 4% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
The fuel that heats more New Hampshire homes than any other is one this page does not price: heating oil. In the 2020 survey, 40% of homes, about 220,000, named it as their main fuel, the 3rd-highest oil share among the 14 states where the survey reports one, far above the national 4%. Propane adds 15%, the 2nd-highest propane share of any reporting state, against 4% nationally. Natural gas reaches only 28% of homes and electricity 9%, the 4th-lowest and the 3rd-lowest shares in the country for those two fuels.
The equipment matches that delivered-fuel pattern. Boilers heat 25% of homes, where the US figure is 8%, and 53% use a furnace. The survey publishes no central heat pump share here. A secondary heater of some kind is in use in 47% of homes.
Heat is the largest line on the energy bill. The average household spends $981 a year on it, the 2nd-highest amount among the states and well above the national $519, or about $82 a month averaged over the year. That is 37% of a total bill of $2,530, itself the 4th-highest in the country. Electricity plays almost no part in it: 4% of household power goes to heat, against 12% for the US.
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 New Hampshire. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 27.6¢/kWh · New Hampshire · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.79/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 7,300 heating degree-days · climate zone 6 (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: $9,934.85 a year · Gas furnace: $2,386.15 a year, for 122.6 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 122.6 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $81.01
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $19.46
- Electric resistance, per year
- $9,934.85
- Gas furnace, per year
- $2,386.15
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$7,548.70
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.3
- Prices used
- electricity 27.6¢/kWh · gas $1.79/therm · propane $3.50/gal · oil $3.70/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $4,319.50
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 New Hampshire
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in New Hampshire needs about 122.6 MMBtu of heat a year (7,300 heating degree-days). At $1.79/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $19.46 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 27.6¢/kWh costs $81.01, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.3 (zone 6) costs $35.22. The year comes to $2,386.15 on gas, $9,934.85 on resistance heat and $4,319.50 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 2.3, the heat pump's heat still costs more than $1.79/therm gas in New Hampshire.
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
Gas, oil or a heat pump in New Hampshire
For the minority of homes on natural gas, the answer on this page is clear. Power is expensive, 27.6¢/kWh, 52% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 8th-highest rate in the country, and gas, although dear too at $1.79/therm (21% above the US average of $1.48/therm), is not dear enough to change the order. The cold works against the heat pump as well: 7,300 heating degree-days, 62% more than the US average of 4,500, put the estimate at a climate-zone 6 seasonal COP of 2.3. For the example house, gas comes out ahead by $1,933.35 a year, and a heat pump would need power at 15.3¢/kWh to draw level with a 92% furnace, against the state average of 27.6¢/kWh.
For the much larger group on oil or propane, gas versus electric is the wrong comparison. At 27.6¢/kWh and a COP of 2.3, heat from a heat pump costs $35.22 per MMBtu. Set that against what a delivered gallon costs you once it is burned in your boiler; the heat pump vs propane and oil calculator does that conversion, and the propane vs electric page handles a propane furnace.
Electric resistance is the costliest heat at these prices, 4.2 times gas for the same output, so a plug-in space heater pays more per unit of heat than either gas or a heat pump; the space heater vs central heat calculator shows when warming a single room is the exception.
The survey's $981 is an average over every home and fuel, apartments included, and the calculator models one 2,000 sq ft house with a furnace, so neither is your bill. With heat this large a share of spending, the cheapest kilowatt-hour or gallon is the one not needed: attic insulation and a thermostat setback are worth pricing before any change of fuel.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in New Hampshire, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in New Hampshire: $9,934.85 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $7,548.70 more than gas. Between gas ($2,386.15) and a heat pump ($4,319.50), gas comes out $1,933.35 a year ahead; a heat pump would match it at about 15.3¢/kWh. These are estimates at 27.6¢/kWh and $1.79/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in New Hampshire?
About 1,333 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at New Hampshire's 7,300 heating degree-days. That averages 111 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.79/therm, the year costs an estimated $2,386.15.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in New Hampshire?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 27.6¢/kWh, that heat costs $81.01 per MMBtu in New Hampshire, against $19.46 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.79/therm, 4.2 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $9,934.85 a year against $2,386.15.
I heat with oil in New Hampshire. How do I compare it with a heat pump?
This page prices gas and electricity only. Oil heats 40% of homes here, so the comparison you need is per unit of heat: a heat pump at the average rate of 27.6¢/kWh and a seasonal COP of 2.3 delivers heat at $35.22 per MMBtu. The heat pump vs propane and oil calculator sets that against your price per gallon and your boiler's efficiency.
Why are heating bills in New Hampshire so high?
The survey's average household spends $981 a year on space heating, the 2nd-highest figure among the states. The winter is long, at 7,300 heating degree-days, 62% more than the US average of 4,500, and both prices this page tracks sit above their US averages: gas at $1.79/therm and electricity at 27.6¢/kWh. The survey does not report what oil and propane households pay per gallon.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
Related