Choosing Heat & Airin Washington
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What does each heating system cost to run in Washington?

Updated . Sources checked November 3, 2026.

What heat costs in Washington comes down to the fuel price divided by the system's efficiency. At EIA's 2024 state prices, that runs from about $11.43 per million Btu of delivered heat for a metered Puget Sound ductless unit to $34.87 for baseboard. The table is our arithmetic, so read its caveats.

A snow-covered forested mountainside under low cloud at Snoqualmie Pass, seen from I-90.
A snow-covered forested mountainside under low cloud at Snoqualmie Pass, seen from I-90.
Dollars per million Btu of heat delivered. Our arithmetic from EIA 2024 Washington prices. See the caveats under the table below.
  • Ductless heat pump, Puget Sound$11.43
  • Gas furnace, 95% AFUE$12.26
  • Ductless heat pump, Inland Empire$14.47
  • Gas furnace, 80% AFUE$14.56
  • Propane furnace, 95% assumed$27.68
  • Oil furnace, 83% AFUE$31.45
  • Baseboard or electric furnace$34.87

What to decide, in this order

  • Ductless heat pump or keep the baseboard heaters?

    The widest gap on the table, and the most common Washington starting point.

    Ductless heat pump, baseboards stay
    West side electric homes with an open main living area
    Baseboards alone
    Small or lightly heated homes, or homes that lean on wood
    A white electric baseboard heater with a dial thermostat on a wood-paneled wall.

  • Replace the electric furnace, or put a heat pump on the ducts?

    The same resistance row, with ducts already in place.

    Ducted heat pump
    Sound ducts and a furnace near the end of its life
    Ductless, furnace stays
    Furnace still works and the main room is the priority
    New electric furnace
    Only when a heat pump truly can't fit the house
    A low blue house on a wet driveway, with fog hiding the trees behind it, in Bothell in March 2025.

  • New gas furnace or heat pump on the West side?

    Close at 2024 prices, and both fuels have moved since.

    New gas furnace
    Furnace has failed, cooling isn't wanted, and budget is tight
    Heat pump
    Cooling matters, or an income-qualified PSE gas rebate is on the table
    A modern condensing gas furnace in a closet, with white PVC vent pipes and metal ducts.

  • Should a Spokane house have a furnace or a heat pump?

    A near-tie at 2024 prices, and both fuels have moved since.

    Gas furnace
    Gas homes replacing a failed furnace, with little interest in summer cooling
    Heat pump with back-up
    Electric-heat homes, and gas homes that also want cooling
    An outdoor heat pump unit against a brick wall, with driven snow stuck to its side.

  • Dual fuel or all electric: which heat pump setup fits your house?

    Using each fuel when it is cheaper depends on these numbers.

    Dual fuel (heat pump plus furnace)
    Houses with a gas furnace that is still relatively new
    All electric (heat pump plus electric back-up)
    Houses with no gas, or a furnace at the end of its life
    A worn two-storey old house with a pickup parked in front, in Spokane's Hillyard district.

  • Stay on heating oil, or switch to a heat pump?

    Oil sits near the top, and the conversion money is local.

    Stay on oil for now
    A sound newer furnace and no tank trouble
    Switch to a heat pump
    Seattle homes eligible for Clean Heat, and homes with worn oil furnaces
    An old oil furnace and foil flexible duct on bare rock under a low floor, with an orange extension cord.

  • Keep burning propane, or switch to a heat pump?

    Rural houses compare the second-highest fuel price here.

    Keep the propane furnace
    A nearly new furnace and little cooling need
    Switch to a heat pump
    Worn-out furnace, adequate electric service, want cooling too
    Heat pump with propane back-up
    A sound furnace you want to burn less often
    A grey-sided rural house with a white propane tank in the side lawn and a window AC at the rear.

  • Should you insulate first or replace the equipment first?

    Using less heat lowers the bill whichever row you are on.

    Insulate and seal first
    A working system in a house with a thin attic or leaks
    Equipment first
    A failed system, or a baseboard house already well insulated
    Loose grey insulation between joists under the rafters of a brick-walled attic, lit by a small window.

How does each system compare per unit of heat delivered?

Ductless and gas sit close together, oil and propane cost roughly two to three times as much, and resistance electric costs the most. These figures come from dividing EIA's 2024 Washington residential prices by the efficiency shown. EIA's prices were electricity $34.87, natural gas $11.65, distillate fuel oil $26.10 and HGL, which includes propane, $26.30, all per million Btu.

Running cost in dollars per million Btu delivered (our arithmetic)

SystemEfficiency usedWhere the efficiency comes from$/million Btu delivered
Baseboard or electric furnace1.00Plain physics$34.87
Ductless heat pump, Puget SoundCOP 3.05NEEA metered, 2008-09$11.43
Ductless heat pump, Inland EmpireCOP 2.41NEEA metered, 2008-09$14.47
Gas furnace, 80%80% AFUEFederal minimum$14.56
Gas furnace, 95%95% AFUEFederal minimum from December 18, 2028$12.26
Oil furnace, 83%83% AFUEFederal minimum$31.45
Propane furnace, 95%95%, assumedOur assumption$27.68

Sources: EIA SEDS Table E3, NEEA field metering, 10 CFR 430.32. This is a comparison of rates, not a bill: it leaves out how much heat your house needs.

What can this table not tell you?

It cannot tell you your bill or a payback, for these reasons.

  • Statewide 2024 averages. These are not your utility's rates.
  • Old pilot homes. The ductless rows come from homes metered in 2008 and 2009. Newer equipment may differ, and we have no Washington metering of it to cite.
  • Gas has moved. EIA's annual Washington gas price rose from $12.72 per thousand cubic feet in 2024 to $17.62 in 2025, up about 39%. Carried through, that puts a 95% furnace near $17.00 and an 80% furnace near $20.20. Those two are our estimates.
  • Electricity has moved too. EIA shows Washington residential at 14.63 cents per kWh in August 2026, up from 13.65 a year earlier. That rate would put a Puget Sound ductless unit near $14.10 and an Inland Empire one near $17.80. One summer month is not an annual average, so the table rows stay at 2024 prices.
  • AFUE is a rating. It is not a meter reading, and duct losses are not included in any row.
  • HGL is a blend. EIA's figure includes propane but is not propane alone, and the 95% efficiency is our assumption.
Falling snow over buried cars and pale apartment buildings, seen past a chain-link fence, in Pullman.
Falling snow over buried cars and pale apartment buildings, seen past a chain-link fence, in Pullman.

How do you run the numbers on your own bill?

Use your own rate and the same division. For electricity, multiply your all-in cents per kWh by 293 and divide by 100 to get dollars per million Btu, then divide by the COP. For gas, multiply your all-in dollars per therm by 10, then divide by the AFUE as a decimal. Both conversions are standard. To get an all-in rate, divide your bill's energy charges and adjustments by the units used. Leave out a fixed monthly charge, since it stays the same however much you heat.

Published rates give a starting point:

  • Seattle City Light says the average rate you pay is about 16 cents per kWh, which is about $46.88 per million Btu at baseboard and $15.37 at COP 3.05 by our arithmetic.
  • Avista lists Washington electric blocks of 10.322, 12.127 and 14.349 cents per kWh plus a $10.00 basic charge (archived copy, 2026). Adjustment schedules change the bill rate, so confirm with the utility.
  • Heating oil and propane have no Washington weekly price at EIA. The U.S. averages for the week of October 26, 2026 were $6.233 and $2.730 a gallon.
A snowy road beside the Yakima River with snow-dusted dry hills in January 2017.
A snowy road beside the Yakima River with snow-dusted dry hills in January 2017.

What about the price of installing it?

We found no official or utility installed-price figure for any heat pump, furnace, tank job or duct job, so none appears here. Get written bids that itemize equipment, labor, electrical work, permits, duct changes and removal of old equipment. Subtract any rebate your utility offers, as of November 2026. Then weigh the bid against the running-cost gap for your own side of the state: see the west side or east side hub.

What people ask next

Why is there no wood stove row in this table?

EIA's 2024 Washington wood price was $14.07 per million Btu, but we found no efficiency figure to divide it by.

Decide next

Where this came from