Gas vs Electric Heating Cost in Tennessee
In Tennessee, a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation costs an estimated $749.43 a year to heat with a 92% gas furnace, $2,378.79 with electric resistance heat and $849.57 with a heat pump. In Tennessee, the gas furnace beats the heat pump on running cost by an estimated $100.14 a year.
State data
What Tennessee pays
- Electricity
- 13.4¢/kWhEIA Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A · EIA, August 2026 (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Natural gas
- $1.14/thermEIA, residential natural gas price ($/Mcf ÷ 10.37) · EIA 2025 annual average (data as of 2026-10-25)
- Heating degree-days
- 3,600 °F-days (base 65 °F)NOAA CPC, 1991–2020 normals
- Climate zone
- 4 (IECC 2021)DOE/PNNL · heat pump seasonal COP used: 2.8
Tennessee pays 13.4¢/kWh for electricity, 26% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh and the 6th-lowest of the 51 rates on this site. Tennessee pays $1.14/therm for natural gas, which puts furnace heat at $12.39 per MMBtu. Tennessee is in IECC climate zone 4, with 3,600 heating degree-days a year; the heat pump line uses a seasonal COP of 2.8.
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
Heat pump country: how Tennessee heats
- Main heating fuel
- Natural gas 35% · electricity 60% · propane 3% · fuel oil not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Main heating equipment
- Furnace 52% · central heat pump 35% · boiler not reportedEIA RECS 2020, state tables · share of homes
- Homes using a secondary heater
- 52%EIA RECS 2020, state tables
- Household energy spend
- $1,759 a year, of which $466 on space heating (26%)EIA RECS 2020, state tables · average per household
- Share of home energy that is space heating
- 73% of natural gas use · 18% of electricity useEIA RECS 2020, state tables
Electric heat is the majority choice in Tennessee. The 2020 survey counted 60% of homes, about 1,600,000, heating mainly with electricity, the 6th-highest share of any state and well above the national 34%. Natural gas heats 35%, against 51% for the US, and propane 3%. Fuel oil is too scarce to report.
The equipment is what makes the state unusual. Central heat pumps are the main heater in 35% of homes, about 930,000 households, the 4th-highest heat pump share among the 33 states the survey reports, next to a US figure of 13%. Furnaces, gas or electric, serve 52%. A secondary heater shows up in 52% of homes.
Heating is a moderate expense. The average household spends $1,759 a year on energy and $466 on space heating, the 15th-lowest heating bill among the states. That is 26% of the total, the same as the US share of 26%. Water heating is a slightly bigger slice than nationally, 17% against 15%, and air conditioning takes 15%. Space heat uses 18% of a typical household's electricity, against 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 Tennessee. Use the rate on your bill if you know it.
Rate used: 13.4¢/kWh · Tennessee · EIA, August 2026 · gas $1.14/therm (EIA 2025 annual) · 3,600 heating degree-days · climate zone 4 (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: $2,378.79 a year · Gas furnace: $749.43 a year, for 60.5 MMBtu of heat.
- Yearly heating load
- 60.5 MMBtu
- Electric resistance, $ per MMBtu
- $39.33
- Gas furnace, $ per MMBtu
- $12.39
- Electric resistance, per year
- $2,378.79
- Gas furnace, per year
- $749.43
- Difference per year (Gas furnace − Electric resistance)
- −$1,629.36
- Seasonal heat pump COP used
- 2.8
- Prices used
- electricity 13.4¢/kWh · gas $1.14/therm · propane $2.80/gal · oil $3.60/gal
- Heat pump, per year (for reference)
- $849.57
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 Tennessee
A 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation in Tennessee needs about 60.5 MMBtu of heat a year (3,600 heating degree-days). At $1.14/therm in a 92% furnace, gas delivers that heat at $12.39 per MMBtu; resistance heat at 13.4¢/kWh costs $39.33, and a heat pump at seasonal COP 2.8 (zone 4) costs $14.05. The year comes to $749.43 on gas, $2,378.79 on resistance heat and $849.57 on a heat pump. At seasonal COP 2.8, the heat pump's heat still costs more than $1.14/therm gas in Tennessee.
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
A near tie between gas and a heat pump in Tennessee
Cheap electricity and a short winter work for the heat pump, but gas is inexpensive in Tennessee as well, so the two finish close. Power costs 13.4¢/kWh, the 6th-lowest rate in the country and 26% below the US average of 18.2¢/kWh; gas costs $1.14/therm, 23% below the US average of $1.48/therm. With 3,600 heating degree-days, 20% fewer than the US average of 4,500, and a climate-zone 4 seasonal COP of 2.8, the example house costs $749.43 a year on a 92% furnace and $849.57 on a heat pump, a gap of $100.14 in favor of gas. The heat pump would tie at 11.8¢/kWh, close to the state's 13.4¢/kWh, so a small shift in either price can swap the order.
A gap that size is small next to the cost of the equipment. A heat pump also cools, so for a home replacing an aging furnace and air conditioner together, the heat pump vs furnace page, which counts the equipment, says more than a running-cost gap of $100.14.
For the large group of electric-heated homes without a heat pump, the picture is clear. Electric resistance would cost the example house $2,378.79 a year at 13.4¢/kWh, against $849.57 with a heat pump; per unit of heat, resistance costs 3.2 times as much as gas here. That comparison, not gas versus heat pump, is the one that moves a bill.
Water heating is worth a look too, since it takes 17% of spending; the heat pump water heater page prices that switch. The survey's $466 is an average across every home and fuel and differs from the calculator's estimate for one 2,000 sq ft house; enter your own rate and gas price above for a figure that fits your home.
Questions
FAQ
Which is cheaper in Tennessee, gas or electric heat?
Electric resistance heat is the most expensive of the three in Tennessee: $2,378.79 a year for the 2,000 sq ft example, $1,629.36 more than gas. Between gas ($749.43) and a heat pump ($849.57), gas comes out $100.14 a year ahead; a heat pump would match it at about 11.8¢/kWh. These are estimates at 13.4¢/kWh and $1.14/therm; your bill's prices can change the answer.
How much gas does a furnace use in Tennessee?
About 657 therms a year for a 2,000 sq ft house with average insulation and a 92% furnace, at Tennessee's 3,600 heating degree-days. That averages 55 therms a month over 12 months, but almost all of it is burned in the heating months. At $1.14/therm, the year costs an estimated $749.43.
Electric furnace vs gas furnace cost in Tennessee?
An electric furnace is resistance heat: every kWh gives 3,412 BTU. At 13.4¢/kWh, that heat costs $39.33 per MMBtu in Tennessee, against $12.39 from a 92% gas furnace at $1.14/therm, 3.2 times as much. For the 2,000 sq ft example that's $2,378.79 a year against $749.43.
Heat pumps are common in Tennessee. Do they beat gas on running cost?
Not by much either way, because gas here is cheap too: $1.14/therm, 23% below the US average of $1.48/therm. At the average electricity rate of 13.4¢/kWh, the example house costs $849.57 a year with a heat pump and $749.43 with a gas furnace. The estimate favors gas by $100.14, and the two tie at an electricity rate of 11.8¢/kWh. A rate on your bill below that tie favors the heat pump; above it, gas. The cooling a heat pump also provides is a separate benefit to weigh.
What does heating with baseboards or an electric furnace cost in Tennessee?
For the example house at 13.4¢/kWh, the estimate is $2,378.79 a year, against $849.57 for a heat pump and $749.43 for gas. Resistance heat turns each kilowatt-hour into one unit of heat, while a heat pump in climate zone 4 averages 2.8 over the season. The heat pump payback page shows how long that yearly gap takes to repay the equipment.
Bordering states
Nearby states
Same calculator, same house, each state's own prices and winter:
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