MeterMath

Heat pump Colorado

Heat pump vs gas heating cost in Colorado

$101 a year saved by heating a typical Colorado home with a heat pump instead of a gas furnace.

A typical home here burns about 540 therms of gas a year for heat, about $918 at the national average of $1.70/therm. A heat pump would use about 4,804 kWh instead, $817 at 17.00¢/kWh. Electricity would have to pass 19.1¢/kWh before gas became the cheaper way to heat.

Prices updated October 2026 from EIA, AAA and BLS data.

How you heat now
therms/yr
 
$/therm
 
¢/kWh
 
Efficiency, upfront cost and rebates
%
Older furnaces 78 to 80, new 90 to 97.
 
$
Heat pumps also replace your AC.
$
State, utility or HEAR rebates.

How Colorado compares

Ranked by yearly saving against gas, Colorado is 22nd of 51. At U.S. average figures a heat pump saves $27 a year. Colorado has the 30th cheapest residential electricity of the 50 states and DC, near the middle, at 17.00¢/kWh, 7% below the U.S. average of 18.31¢.

With an estimated 6,000 heating degree days a year, winters here are moderate, and the calculator uses a seasonal COP of 2.8.

Against propane the heat pump saves $671 a year, against heating oil it saves $1,432 a year, and against electric baseboard heat it saves $1,470 a year.

Heating nowNow, per yearHeat pumpDifference
Natural gas furnace$918$817$101
Propane furnace$1,487$816$671
Oil furnace$2,248$816$1,432
Electric baseboard$2,287$817$1,470

Six of its seven neighbors do better against gas: Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming, led by Utah at $268 a year saved.

StateElectricitySaving vs gas a year
Utah13.12¢$268
Nebraska13.78¢$260
Oklahoma14.35¢$178
Kansas15.27¢$147
Wyoming14.36¢$138
New Mexico16.09¢$101
Colorado17.00¢$101
Arizona15.38¢$63

More for Colorado

What these numbers assume

  • A heating load estimated from about 6,000 heating degree days a year: 540 therms of gas, 590 gallons of propane, 414 gallons of oil or 13,453 kWh of baseboard heat.
  • Natural gas at $1.70/therm, the U.S. city average for September 2026. Gas prices vary a lot by state and utility, so enter the price per therm from your bill.
  • Propane at $2.52 and heating oil at $5.43 a gallon, EIA forecasts for winter 2026–27.
  • Furnaces 85% efficient (oil 80%), and a heat pump with a seasonal COP of 2.8.
  • No federal tax credit: Section 25C ended for equipment placed in service after December 31, 2025.

Change any of them in the calculator above to match your own bills. The formulas are on the main heat pump calculator.

Sources

  • Electricity price: EIA Electric Power Monthly, Table 5.6.A (July 2026 data).
  • Natural gas: BLS U.S. city average, September 2026.
  • Propane and heating oil: EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook winter forecast, October 2026.
  • Heating degree days: MeterMath rounded estimate for the state.
  • Tax credit status: Public Law 119-21.