Heating & cooling
Heat Pumps for Your Home: Cost, Savings and How to Choose
What a heat pump costs to run in 2026, how much it can save versus a furnace, AC or baseboard heat, how to read SEER2 and HSPF2, and what help is left.
Topics
Heating & cooling
Heating and cooling is the biggest slice of most home energy bills. These guides explain how heat pumps compare with furnaces, boilers and central air, what efficiency ratings mean, and how to get a system sized for your house rather than the contractor's stock.
Start withCold-Climate Heat Pumps: Do They Really Work Below Freezing?Yes. A cold-climate heat pump keeps heating efficiently well below freezing. To earn the ENERGY STAR cold-climate designation, a model must still deliver at least 70% of its rated heating capacity at 5°F with a coefficient of performance of at least 1.75. Most homes in very cold areas still plan some form of backup heat.
Guides in this topic
Calculators for this topic
- Heat pump savings calculatorCompare a year of heating with your current system against an air-source heat pump.
- Heating fuel cost comparison calculatorCost of 1 million BTU of delivered heat from gas, propane, oil, electric resistance and a heat pump.
- AC BTU calculator (room air conditioner size)The right room AC or mini-split capacity using the ENERGY STAR sizing chart.
- SEER2 savings calculatorCooling cost of an old AC versus a higher-SEER2 air conditioner or heat pump.