Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $2,175.42 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $7,908.90 with electric resistance heat and $3,163.56 with a heat pump. Gas heat costs $22.72 per MMBtu here, against $33.04 from a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5.
State data
What Rhode Island pays
- Electricity
- 28.2¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $2.09/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 5,700 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 5 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.5
Rhode Island is in the over-20¢ band on this site: 28.2¢ a kWh, 55% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. Natural gas is $2.09/therm in Rhode Island, 41% above the US average of $1.48/therm, so a 92% furnace's heat costs $22.72 per MMBtu. A winter of 5,700 heating degree-days means the 2,000 sq ft example in Rhode Island needs about 95.8 MMBtu of heat a year.
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 and heating oil in Rhode Island
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 53% · electricity 13% · propane not reported · fuel oil 31%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 51% · central heat pump not reported · boiler 33%EIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 45%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $2,617 a year, of which $953 on space heating (36%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 74% of natural gas use · 7% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Fuel oil is the detail that sets Rhode Island apart. In the 2020 survey it was the main heating fuel in 31% of homes, about 130,000, the 5th-highest oil share among the 14 states that report one, where the US figure is 4%. Natural gas still heats the majority, 53%, in line with the national 51%. Electric heat is the outlier in the other direction: 13% of homes, the 6th-lowest share of any state, against 34% for the country. The survey does not report a propane share here.
Many of those oil and gas homes heat with water rather than air. Boilers are the main equipment in 33% of households, against 8% nationally, and furnaces in 51%. Central heat pumps were too rare in the sample to publish, and 45% of homes add a secondary heater.
Energy bills are among the highest in the country. A household spends $2,617 a year, the 3rd-highest of the 51 states, and $953 of that goes to space heating, the 4th-highest. Heat takes 36% of the total, against 26% for the US. Electricity plays a small part in it: space heating accounts for just 7% of an average household's power use, against 12% nationally.
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 Rhode Island. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 28.2¢/kWh · Rhode Island · EIA, August 2026 · gas $2.09/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 5,700 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: $7,908.90 a year · Gas furnace: $2,175.42 a year, for 95.8 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 95.8 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $82.59
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $22.72
- Electric resistance, per year
- $7,908.90
- Gas furnace, per year
- $2,175.42
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$5,733.48
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.5
- Prices used
- electricity 28.2¢/kWh · gas $2.09/therm · propane $3.60/gal · oil $3.80/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $3,163.56
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 Rhode Island
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Rhode Island needs about 95.8 MMBtu of heat a year (5,700 heating degree-days). At $2.09/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $22.72 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 28.2¢/kWh costs $82.59, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5 (zone 5) costs $33.04. The year comes to $2,175.42 on gas, $7,908.90 on resistance heat and $3,163.56 on a heat pump. Gas is the cheapest to run here, by $988.14 a year over a heat pump.
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
Expensive gas, expensive power: the Rhode Island comparison
Neither fuel is cheap here. Gas runs $2.09/therm, 41% above the US average of $1.48/therm and the 5th-highest price in the country, and electricity 28.2¢/kWh, 55% above the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 7th-highest. Since a high gas price helps a heat pump and a high power price hurts it, the question is which one weighs more, and at these levels the estimate says power does. With 5,700 heating degree-days and a climate-zone 5 COP of 2.5, the example house costs $2,175.42 a year on a 92% gas furnace and $3,163.56 with a heat pump, so gas leads by $988.14.
The break-even rate is 19.4¢/kWh, while the average customer pays 28.2¢/kWh. A heat pump tariff or a winter time-of-use rate is the kind of change that could move a gas home toward the tie; look at your utility's options before assuming the average applies to you.
For oil homes, this page's main result does not apply. Their heating cost depends on the price per gallon, which this calculator does not use, so about 130,000 households should start with the heat pump vs propane or oil page instead. Electric resistance, on the other hand, is the most expensive way to heat at these prices: $7,908.90 a year for the example house, 3.6 times the cost of gas heat, against $3,163.56 for the heat pump.
Because so many homes have boilers and radiators, a ducted heat pump is not always a direct replacement; ductless heads or a heat pump that shares the load with the existing boiler are the setups to price. The survey's $953 averages all homes and fuels and comes in under the calculator's figure for one 2,000 sq ft house. With heating bills this high, the attic insulation page is a sensible companion to the calculator above.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Rhode Island, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Rhode Island: $7,908.90 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $5,733.48 more than gas. Between gas ($2,175.42) and a heat pump ($3,163.56), gas is cheaper here: $22.72 per MMBtu of heat against $33.04 for a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.5. These are estimates at 28.2¢/kWh and $2.09/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Rhode Island?
About 1,041 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Rhode Island's 5,700 heating degree-days. That averages 87 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $2.09/therm, the year costs an estimated $2,175.42.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Rhode Island?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 28.2¢/kWh, that heat costs $82.59 per MMBtu in Rhode Island, against $22.72 from a 92% gas furnace at $2.09/therm, 3.6 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $7,908.90 a year against $2,175.42.
I heat with oil in Rhode Island. Should I switch to a heat pump?
That depends on your oil price, which this gas-versus-electric page does not ask for. Use the heat pump vs propane or oil calculator with the price per gallon from your last delivery and your electricity rate, 28.2¢/kWh on average. Oil heats 31% of Rhode Island homes, the 5th-highest oil share among the states that report one, so the comparison fits a large slice of the state. Your installer's quote, not the estimate, sets the payback.
Is gas heat really cheaper than a heat pump in Rhode Island with gas at $2.09/therm?
At average prices, yes: the estimate favors gas by $988.14 a year for the example house. Gas is expensive here, the 5th-highest price among the states, but electricity at 28.2¢/kWh is also near the top, and the heat pump needs a rate under 19.4¢/kWh to tie. If your bill shows a lower rate for heating or for off-peak hours, enter it above; that is the number that decides.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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