Answer
Sep 20, 2020 - 12:47 PM
As of 2023, the cost per unit of electricity is higher than the cost per unit of gas. This means that, although a heat pump will always be more energy efficient than a gas heater, on the coldest days of the year when the heat pump has to work the hardest to pump heat into your home it may be most cost efficient to heat via gas. There are a few ways to lower costs:
First is to weatherize your hone. A weatherized home (with insulation and air sealing) does a much better job at keeping heat inside the home, meaning your HVAC system does not need to work as hard or cost as much.
Second is to see if there are ways you can reduce your electricity costs. Newton Power Choice often offers lower electric supply rates than Eversource Basic Service, and many residents install solar on their roof to produce their own electricity, sometimes lowering their electric bill to zero. Community solar often lowers your electric bill as well.
Finally, some people set up heat pump systems to link to existing fossil fuel heaters in their home, to automatically switch between the heat pump and the fossil fuel back up when the outside air drops to a cost-effective temperature.
