Heat Pump Calculator for New Gas Communities

This calculator is designed to help you compare the costs of switching from a propane or fuel-oil home heating system to Enbridge’s new gas service or to an electric heat pump system. It will help you to see that hooking up to gas is a costly, outdated solution compared to using a modern cold-weather heat pump. (We are comparing costs to an air-to-air heat pump system, but many customers in more rural areas may save even more with a ground source heat pump system.)

If you currently use conventional electric heating (e.g., baseboards or electric furnace) in your home, you can see how switching to a heat pump can also help you financially in our recent report.

To use the calculator, enter the amount of propane or fuel oil (in liters) that you currently consume. The calculator will then give you the comparative cost of providing the same amount of heating with Enbridge’s new gas service or with a heat pump. Because heat pumps also can cool your home in our increasingly hot summers, we have included a comparison of cooling costs as well.

The assumptions built into the calculator are outlined below. The calculator will show you projected costs over 15 years, the minimum lifespan for most heating and cooling equipment. It provides an estimate only. To properly understand costs, you will need to get equipment quotes from a contractor.

Incentives and financing

You can now receive zero interest financing (over 10 years) for a heat pump installation through the Canada Greener Homes Loan Program.

If you use fuel oil to heat your home and your income is below the Canadian median ($122,000 for a family of four currently), the federal government will give you $10,000 to assist with the costs of switching to an eligible cold-climate heat pump.

If your home uses electric heat and you qualify for the Energy Affordability Program you can receive a cold climate air source heat pump for free through the Save on Energy Program.

More about heat pump technology.

Assumptions

We are comparing the cost of buying a new gas furnace and conventional AC to the cost of a cold climate air-source heat pump (for space heating and cooling) and a heat pump water heater.

We assume you are eligible for a zero interest loan through the federal Greener Homes Loan Program and that you would, alternatively, finance new conventional equipment with a secured loan (e.g., secured home line of credit) at a 5% interest rate over 10 years. Many consumer loans carry higher interest rates.

We have included a $2,000 charge in the cost of the heat pump system for upgrading electrical service to 200 Amps.

We assume an increase in carbon pricing to 2030 as set out under current federal legislation. While we assume the price remains constant after that date, it is possible the price will increase to meet climate targets.

We are using an average cooling load of 20.7 Gigajoules per year. Your actual cooling usage may be higher or lower. Cooling cost using this average is about $3450 (over 15 years) with a conventional AC unit and about $3000 with a heat pump.

Costs are projected over 15 years, which should be the minimum to average lifespan of the equipment.

We are using averaged Ontario prices for electricity and natural gas, plus a fixed annual gas service charge of roughly $310 per year. Customers signing on to Enbridge’s gas expansion program will pay an additional surcharge of 26 cents per cubic meter, which we have factored into this calculator. These costs include HST.

We have held gas and electricity prices constant (no increase) over 15 years.This is a rough estimate calculator and should not be relied on for making financial decisions. You need a proper quotation from a contractor to fully understand costs. But this will help you get a sense of the benefits of converting to a heat pump system rather than connecting to gas.

Heat Pump Savings Calculator