Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $1,482.78 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $6,002.70 with electric resistance heat and $2,401.08 with a heat pump. At these prices gas is the cheapest of the three, $918.30 a year under a heat pump.
State data
What Pennsylvania pays
- Electricity
- 21.8¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.45/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 5,600 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
At 21.8¢/kWh, Pennsylvania has the 14th-highest residential electricity rate among the 50 states and DC. At $1.45/therm, Pennsylvania's gas price is the 26th-highest of the 51 on this site. Pennsylvania logs 5,600 heating degree-days a year (NOAA normals), 24% 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
Gas, oil and radiators in Pennsylvania
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 52% · electricity 26% · propane 6% · fuel oil 13%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 56% · central heat pump 7% · boiler 19%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 50%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,015 a year, of which $743 on space heating (37%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 75% of natural gas use · 16% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Natural gas heats about half of Pennsylvania: 52% of homes in the 2020 survey, about 2,700,000 of them, close to the national 51%. The difference lies in what heats the rest. Electricity's share, 26%, is below the US 34%, while fuel oil keeps 13% of homes, about 670,000, and propane another 6%. The oil share is the 9th-highest of the 14 states where the survey can report one.
The equipment follows the same pattern. Boilers, which circulate hot water or steam to radiators, are the main heater in 19% of homes, against 8% nationally. Furnaces serve 56%, and central heat pumps only 7%, the 10th-lowest heat pump share among the 33 states that report one. Half the households, 50%, also run a secondary heater.
Heating is a heavy line on the household budget. Annual energy spending averages $2,015, and $743 of it, the 11th-highest amount among the states, pays for space heat. That is 37% of the total, the 6th-highest share of the 50 states, against 26% for the US. In homes on gas, heating uses 75% of what the meter records.
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 Pennsylvania. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 21.8¢/kWh · Pennsylvania · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.45/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 5,600 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: $6,002.70 a year · Gas furnace: $1,482.78 a year, for 94.1 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 94.1 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $63.80
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $15.76
- Electric resistance, per year
- $6,002.70
- Gas furnace, per year
- $1,482.78
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$4,519.92
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 21.8¢/kWh · gas $1.45/therm · propane $3.10/gal · oil $3.70/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $2,401.08
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 Pennsylvania
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Pennsylvania needs about 94.1 MMBtu of heat a year (5,600 heating degree-days). At $1.45/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $15.76 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 21.8¢/kWh costs $63.80, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $25.52. The year comes to $1,482.78 on gas, $6,002.70 on resistance heat and $2,401.08 on a heat pump. A heat pump would need electricity near 13.4¢/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 Pennsylvania's prices say about a heat pump
The price pair here works against electric heat. Power costs 21.8¢/kWh, 20% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 14th-highest rate in the country, while gas costs $1.45/therm, 2% below the US average of $1.48/therm. Add 5,600 heating degree-days, 24% more than the US average of 4,500, and a climate-zone 5 seasonal COP of 2.5, and the estimate for the example house favors gas by $918.30 a year. A heat pump would need electricity at 13.4¢/kWh to break even with a 92% furnace, a long way below the 21.8¢/kWh average.
For a gas customer, then, the heat pump question is mostly about rate design. A dedicated heat pump rate, or a time-of-use plan that prices winter nights low, is the input that could change the answer; the average residential price does not.
The homes where electricity looks best are the ones off the gas network. Oil and propane customers, about 670,000 households on oil alone, should run the heat pump vs propane or oil calculator with their last delivery price, because that comparison is set by the price per gallon, not by $1.45/therm. Electric resistance is the costliest option on this page: $6,002.70 a year for the example house, 4.0 times the price of gas heat per unit, against $2,401.08 for a heat pump.
The boiler share matters for the equipment itself. A home heated by radiators often has no ducts, so a central heat pump may not be a drop-in swap; ductless units or a hybrid setup that keeps the boiler for the coldest days are the usual alternatives to price. The survey's $743 is an all-homes average across fuels, below the calculator's figure for one 2,000 sq ft house; your own bills, typed into the calculator above, are the better guide. The thermostat setback page prices a lower setpoint at night or while you are out.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Pennsylvania, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Pennsylvania: $6,002.70 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $4,519.92 more than gas. Between gas ($1,482.78) and a heat pump ($2,401.08), gas costs less to run in Pennsylvania, by an estimated $918.30 a year. These are estimates at 21.8¢/kWh and $1.45/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Pennsylvania?
About 1,023 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Pennsylvania's 5,600 heating degree-days. That averages 85 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.45/therm, the year costs an estimated $1,482.78.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Pennsylvania?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 21.8¢/kWh, that heat costs $63.80 per MMBtu in Pennsylvania, against $15.76 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.45/therm, 4.0 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $6,002.70 a year against $1,482.78.
Does a heat pump make sense in Pennsylvania if I heat with oil?
This page compares a heat pump with natural gas at $1.45/therm, so it is the wrong comparison for an oil home. Fuel oil heats 13% of Pennsylvania homes, the 9th-highest share among the states that report it. Price your oil per gallon against 21.8¢/kWh electricity on the heat pump vs propane or oil page; at 5,600 heating degree-days, the seasonal COP of 2.5 for zone 5 is already in the estimate.
Why is my Pennsylvania heating bill higher than the survey's $743?
That figure, about $62 a month over a year, averages every home in the state, apartments and row houses included, across all fuels, so it runs low for a single house. The calculator's example house uses 1,023 therms of gas a year, about 85 a month on average, and costs $1,482.78 on a 92% furnace. Compare those figures with the therms on your winter bills to see how your home stacks up.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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