Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in South Carolina
In South Carolina, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $773.90 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $2,017.58 with electric resistance heat and $650.83 with a heat pump. At these prices a heat pump is the cheapest of the three, $123.06 a year under gas.
State data
What South Carolina pays
- Electricity
- 15.8¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.63/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 2,600 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 3 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 3.1
Electricity in South Carolina costs 15.8¢/kWh, 13% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh. South Carolina pays $1.63/therm for natural gas, which puts furnace heat at $17.72 per MMBtu. Heating need in South Carolina is low by US standards: 2,600 degree-days against 4,500, climate zone 3.
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 South Carolina heat
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 28% · electricity 64% · propane 5% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 46% · central heat pump 41% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 41%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,918 a year, of which $405 on space heating (21%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 66% of natural gas use · 15% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
South Carolina is a heat-pump state. In the 2020 survey, 41% of homes (about 810,000) heated with a central heat pump, against 13% for the country, the highest share among the 33 states that report it. Electricity is the main heating fuel in 64% of homes (about 1,260,000), against 34% nationally and the 2nd-highest share of any state, while natural gas heats only 28%, against 51%, and propane 5%.
Furnaces still turn up in 46% of homes, which covers both gas furnaces and electric ones. Since the electric share is well above the heat pump share, a sizable group of electric-heated homes runs something other than a central heat pump. A secondary heater is in 41% of homes, against 42% for the US.
The heating bill is small. A household spends $1,918 a year on home energy, close to the US figure of $1,884, but only $405, 21%, on space heating, against $519 and 26% nationally, the 7th-lowest share in the country. Air conditioning, at $381 or 19% of the bill, nearly matches it, against 14% for the US, and water heating takes $333.
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 South Carolina. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 15.8¢/kWh · South Carolina · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.63/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 2,600 heating degree-days · climate zone 3 (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: $2,017.58 a year · Gas furnace: $773.90 a year, for 43.7 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 43.7 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $46.19
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $17.72
- Electric resistance, per year
- $2,017.58
- Gas furnace, per year
- $773.90
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$1,243.68
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 3.1
- Prices used
- electricity 15.8¢/kWh · gas $1.63/therm · propane $3.00/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $650.83
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 South Carolina
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in South Carolina needs about 43.7 MMBtu of heat a year (2,600 heating degree-days). At $1.63/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $17.72 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 15.8¢/kWh costs $46.19, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 3.1 (zone 3) costs $14.90. The year comes to $773.90 on gas, $2,017.58 on resistance heat and $650.83 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 3.1, the heat pump turns 15.8¢/kWh electricity into heat that costs less than $1.63/therm gas.
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 South Carolina
The prices point the same way as the equipment. Electricity costs 15.8¢/kWh, 13% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh, while gas costs $1.63/therm, 10% above the US average of $1.48/therm. Cheaper-than-average power and dearer-than-average gas is the pairing that favors a heat pump, and the estimate for the example house agrees: a heat pump comes out ahead by $123.06 a year. A heat pump keeps that lead up to an electricity rate of 18.7¢/kWh, against a state average of 15.8¢/kWh, so a bill somewhat above the average still leaves it in front.
The mild winter helps. With 2,600 heating degree-days, 42% fewer than the US average of 4,500, and climate zone 3, the calculator uses a seasonal COP of 3.1, a better figure than colder zones get. The other side of a mild winter is that every dollar figure stays small: the house needs only 43.7 MMBtu of heat a year, so the heat pump's yearly advantage is modest in dollars even when it is clear in direction.
The biggest gap in South Carolina is not between gas and a heat pump. It is between resistance heat and a heat pump, and that is the question for the electric-heated homes without one. Resistance costs 2.6 times as much as gas per unit of heat at these prices, $2,017.58 a year for the example house, and it is the most expensive of the three options in the calculator above.
The survey's $405 a year averages every home in the state, apartments included, so it sits below the calculator's figures for one 2,000 sq ft house. Type the rate and gas price from your own bills into the calculator above. Because a heat pump also does the cooling, and cooling is nearly as large a cost as heating here, the heat pump payback page is the place to weigh a replacement, and the heat pump size page checks capacity.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in South Carolina, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in South Carolina: $2,017.58 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $1,243.68 more than gas. Between gas ($773.90) and a heat pump ($650.83), the heat pump comes out $123.06 a year ahead on running cost; purchase and installation are not counted (see the payback calculator). These are estimates at 15.8¢/kWh and $1.63/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in South Carolina?
About 475 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at South Carolina's 2,600 heating degree-days. That averages 40 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.63/therm, the year costs an estimated $773.90.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in South Carolina?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 15.8¢/kWh, that heat costs $46.19 per MMBtu in South Carolina, against $17.72 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.63/therm, 2.6 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $2,017.58 a year against $773.90.
Is a heat pump cheaper than gas heat in South Carolina?
At average prices, yes, on the estimate for the example house: a heat pump is cheaper to run by $123.06 a year. The heat pump stays ahead while your electricity rate is under about 18.7¢/kWh; the state average is 15.8¢/kWh and gas is $1.63/therm. The margin is small in dollars because the heating season is short, so your own rate and gas price decide it.
My electric heating bill in South Carolina is high. Is that normal?
The survey average is $405 a year, but it covers every home, including those on gas and on heat pumps. A house on an electric furnace or baseboards pays far more: $2,017.58 a year for the example house at 15.8¢/kWh. Space heating takes 15% of an average household's electricity here. If you heat with resistance, compare it with a heat pump in the calculator above.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
Related