Costs & Planning
Heat Pump vs Natural Gas Furnace in BC: Real Operating Cost Math
The honest answer: in BC the operating cost race is close and depends on your electricity rate, gas rate, and the heat pump's real-world efficiency. Here's the actual math.
Published 2026-07-15 · Updated 2026-07-15 · Retrofit Network
The formula (so you can check everyone's claims)
Annual gas heating cost = (annual heat demand in GJ ÷ furnace efficiency) × all-in gas price per GJ. Annual heat pump cost = (annual heat demand in GJ × 277.8 kWh/GJ ÷ seasonal COP) × all-in electricity price per kWh. That's it — every credible comparison reduces to these two lines. 'All-in' means including delivery, storage, and carbon charges from your actual bill, not just the commodity rate.
A worked example for a typical BC home
Take a home needing 55 GJ of delivered heat per year — a reasonable ballpark for a mid-size, moderately insulated BC house. Gas furnace at 95% efficiency with an all-in gas cost around $13/GJ: 55 ÷ 0.95 × $13 ≈ $750 per year. Heat pump at a seasonal COP of 3.0 with all-in electricity around $0.12/kWh: 55 × 277.8 ÷ 3.0 × $0.12 ≈ $610 per year. At COP 2.5 the heat pump lands around $735 — roughly break-even.
The point of this example is not the exact dollars — your rates and heat demand will differ — it's that the result flips on two inputs you can look up: your utility rates and the realistic seasonal COP for your region and equipment. Pull both from your bills and your contractor's equipment data, then run the two lines yourself.
Why coastal BC favours heat pumps
A heat pump's efficiency rises as outdoor temperature rises. Metro Vancouver, Victoria, and most of the South Coast spend the vast majority of the heating season between 0°C and 10°C — the sweet spot where modern inverter heat pumps deliver COPs of 3 and above. That's why coastal operating-cost comparisons usually favour the heat pump even before counting summer cooling, which the gas furnace can't do at all.
Where the math gets tighter: the Interior and North
In Kamloops, Kelowna, Prince George, and colder regions, more heating hours happen below -10°C, where COP drops toward 1.5–2 and electric backup heat may run during cold snaps. Seasonal COP for the whole winter might land closer to 2.0–2.5, tightening or flipping the comparison depending on rates. Cold-climate equipment, good sizing, and a dual-fuel setup (heat pump primary, existing furnace as backup) are the standard answers — dual-fuel lets the system pick whichever fuel is cheaper at a given temperature.
Beyond the monthly bill
Three factors sit outside the pure operating math. First, cooling: a heat pump is also your air conditioner, and after BC's recent heat events many homeowners count that heavily. Second, carbon costs: gas carries carbon charges that have generally trended upward, which nudges the long-run math toward electricity. Third, equipment lifecycle: if your furnace is near end-of-life anyway, the fair comparison is heat-pump-vs-new-furnace, not heat-pump-vs-free.
If you want real numbers for your own home, a contractor quote with a heat-loss calculation beats any online calculator — request quotes and ask each installer to show their operating-cost assumptions.
FAQ
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than gas in Vancouver?
Usually yes or roughly break-even, because coastal BC's mild winters keep heat pump efficiency high (seasonal COP around 3). The exact answer depends on your current BC Hydro and FortisBC rates — run the two-line formula in this guide with your own bill numbers.
What seasonal COP should I assume for the comparison?
Roughly 2.8–3.5 for a quality inverter unit in coastal BC, and roughly 2.0–2.5 in colder Interior climates. Ask your installer for modelled numbers for the specific equipment and your location rather than using the nameplate rating.
Does a heat pump raise my electricity bill?
Yes — you're shifting energy from your gas bill to your electricity bill. The question is whether the electricity added is smaller in dollars than the gas removed, which is what the formula in this guide answers.
Should I keep my gas furnace as backup?
Dual-fuel (heat pump primary, furnace backup) is a legitimate strategy in colder BC regions: you get heat pump economics most of the year and furnace output in deep cold. Note that some rebate streams require fully removing the fossil system, so check program rules before deciding.
What about cooling costs in summer?
A heat pump cools far more efficiently than portable ACs and adds capability a furnace doesn't have. If summer cooling matters to you, that value belongs on the heat pump's side of the ledger.
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