Heat pump vs gas heating cost in Hawaii

$102 a year more to heat a typical Hawaii home with a heat pump than with a gas furnace.

A typical home here burns about 50 therms of gas a year for heat, about $85 at the national average of $1.70/therm. A heat pump would use about 389 kWh instead, $187 at 48.00¢/kWh. Electricity would have to fall to 21.8¢/kWh, or gas rise in price, before the heat pump became the cheaper way to heat.

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

How Hawaii compares

Ranked by yearly saving against gas, Hawaii is 37th of 51. At U.S. average figures a heat pump saves $27 a year. Hawaii has the most expensive residential electricity of the 50 states and DC at 48.00¢/kWh, 162% above the U.S. average of 18.31¢.

Hawaii has almost no heating degree days, so homes need very little heat and the calculator uses its minimum of 50 therms a year. The yearly dollars are small whichever way you heat.

Against propane the heat pump costs $49 a year more, against heating oil it saves $21 a year, and against electric baseboard heat it saves $411 a year.

Heating now	Now, per year	Heat pump	Difference
Natural gas furnace	$85	$187	−$102
Propane furnace	$139	$188	−$49
Oil furnace	$206	$185	$21
Electric baseboard	$598	$187	$411

Two of its four neighbors do better against gas: Oregon and Washington, led by Washington at $176 a year saved.

State	Electricity	Saving vs gas a year
Washington	14.71¢	$176
Oregon	15.97¢	$113
Hawaii	48.00¢	−$102
California	33.61¢	−$157
Alaska	28.83¢	−$1,047

More for Hawaii

EV charging cost in Hawaii vs gas: an EV saves $66 a year on fuel.
Solar payback in Hawaii: a typical system pays back in 5.9 years.

What these numbers assume

A heating load estimated from almost no heating degree days: 50 therms of gas, 55 gallons of propane, 38 gallons of oil or 1,246 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 3.2.
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.