Heating Cost Comparison Calculator
Same house, same winter, five fuels. Enter your heating load and the prices you actually pay, and see what each system costs per year in delivered heat.
Your results
Fuel energy contents used: natural gas priced per GJ directly; electricity 0.0036 GJ per kWh; oil 0.0387 GJ per litre; propane 0.0253 GJ per litre. Equipment purchase, maintenance and fixed delivery charges are not included.
Worked example
An 80 GJ heating load at the default prices
Natural gas: 80 × $12.00 ÷ 0.92 = $1,043.48 per year. Electric resistance: 80 × ($0.16 ÷ 0.0036) = $3,555.56. A heat pump at COP 3.0: $3,555.56 ÷ 3 = $1,185.19. Oil: 80 × ($1.60 ÷ 0.0387) ÷ 0.85 = $3,891.17. Propane: 80 × ($0.95 ÷ 0.0253) ÷ 0.92 = $3,265.17.
How this calculator works
The calculator converts every fuel to a cost per gigajoule of heat delivered to the house: cost per delivered GJ = (price per unit ÷ GJ per unit) ÷ efficiency, then annual cost = heating load (GJ) × cost per delivered GJ. For a heat pump, the COP replaces efficiency: a COP of 3 means one unit of electricity delivers three units of heat.
Find your load on last winter's bills: gas utilities bill in GJ directly; for oil or propane, multiply litres burned by the GJ-per-litre figures above; for electric heat, multiply kWh by 0.0036.
Common questions
Why is electric heat so expensive per GJ but a heat pump is not?
Resistance heat converts one kWh into exactly one kWh of heat (0.0036 GJ), so you pay the full per-GJ price of electricity, about $44 per GJ at 16 cents per kWh. A heat pump moves heat instead of making it, delivering roughly 3 GJ of heat for every GJ of electricity at a seasonal COP of 3.
What is a realistic heating load for my home?
Very roughly: a well-insulated newer detached home in southern Ontario might use 50 to 70 GJ for space heat; an older detached home in the Prairies or the North can exceed 120 GJ. Your own bills are the only reliable source, and this calculator uses whatever load you enter.
Does this include carbon charges and delivery fees?
Only if you build them into the prices you enter. Use the all-in per-unit price from your bill (energy plus delivery plus carbon charges, divided by units used) for the fairest comparison.
Related calculators
Want to check how cold a period really was? Use the Heating Degree Days Calculator. For a single appliance, use the Appliance Electricity Cost Calculator, and for heater sizing, the Heating BTU Calculator.
Estimates only, using the prices, load and efficiencies you enter. Not an equipment recommendation; a heating contractor can model your specific home.