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Heat pump vs AC: the running-cost arithmetic
With matched efficiencies, cooling costs the same either way; the difference is heating. Enter your own electricity and gas rates and last year's heating therms, and the calculator shows both annual costs and the arithmetic behind them.
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Run the numbers with your rates
The calculator itself sends nothing to us. It works out an estimate from your inputs and does not promise any saving.
How to use the calculator
- Rates. From your last electricity and gas bills, divide charges by units used. The results appear only once both rates are entered.
- Heating therms. Winter therms minus a summer baseline, summed over the heating months. Leave it at zero if you do not heat.
- Cooling hours. Your own guess. Four hours a day for 150 days is 600 hours.
- Size and efficiency. Choose the tons on your quote. Change SEER2 and HSPF2 to the quoted model's ratings, and AFUE to your furnace's (it is on the furnace label).
- Read the gap, then move one input at a time to see which one drives it.
The formulas it uses
- Cooling: tons × 12,000 Btu/h × hours ÷ (SEER2 × 1,000) = kWh, times your electricity rate. One SEER2 field feeds both systems, so this line is always the same for each.
- Furnace heating: the therms you entered times your gas rate.
- Heat pump heating: therms × 100,000 Btu × AFUE gives the heat the furnace actually delivered. Divide by (HSPF2 × 1,000) for kWh, then multiply by your electricity rate.
- Totals: cooling plus furnace heating, against cooling plus heat pump heating. The sentence under the table states the difference.
- Install cost: the published 2026 LA ranges for central AC and a ducted heat pump at the chosen size, shown separately and never added into the running cost. The AC figure does not include a new furnace.
Read the HSPF2 term as heat out per unit of electricity in, averaged over a season. A heat pump moves heat rather than making it, which is why its seasonal heat output per kWh can be several times what a resistance heater manages; LA's mild winters keep it working in its efficient range most of the season.
Worked examples
The rates below are example inputs to show how the arithmetic moves, not anyone's current tariff. Use your own bills.
| Inputs | AC + furnace | Heat pump | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. 3 tons, 600 h, 200 therms, $0.30/kWh, $2.00/therm, 80% AFUE, 14.3 SEER2, 7.5 HSPF2 | $853 | $1,093 | heat pump $240 a year more |
| B. As A, but $2.50/therm, 16 SEER2, 9.0 HSPF2 | $905 | $938 | heat pump $33 a year more |
| C. 4 tons, 1,200 h, 120 therms, $0.30/kWh, $2.50/therm, 70% AFUE, 16 SEER2, 8.5 HSPF2 | $1,380 | $1,376 | heat pump $4 a year less |
Example A is two minimum-efficiency systems. Cooling is 1,510 kWh ($453) either way. The furnace burns 200 therms ($400); the heat pump delivers the same 16 million Btu with 2,133 kWh ($640). At these rates the heat pump costs more to run.
Example B raises the gas price and puts a higher-rated heat pump on the quote. Heat pump heating falls to 1,778 kWh ($533) against $500 of gas, and the gap nearly closes.
Example C is a Valley-style house: twice the cooling hours, little heating, an older 70% furnace. Cooling dominates ($1,080 on 3,600 kWh), and the heat pump's 988 kWh of heating ($296) edges the furnace's $300. When heating is small, the choice turns on install cost and rebates, not running cost.
Los Angeles context
Cooling hours vary across the county. NOAA's 1991–2020 normals put LAX at 4.8 days a year at 90 °F or above and Woodland Hills at 115.3. A coastal home may log a few hundred AC hours; a West Valley home far more. Heating is light almost everywhere, which keeps the heating line small.
Your utility sets both the rate and the rebate. City of Los Angeles homes buy power from LADWP, which rebates heat pumps per ton; Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena run their own city utilities; most other suburbs are on Southern California Edison. Not sure which serves you? See which utility serves my property, then the rebate lookup or the LADWP estimator.
Swapping a gas furnace for a heat pump can add an electrical circuit, which in the City of LA means an electrical permit alongside the mechanical one, and sometimes a panel upgrade. See gas furnace to heat pump and panel upgrades.
Assumptions and limits
- Defaults of 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2 are the federal minimums for new split ACs and heat pumps in California's region (10 CFR 430.32(c), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations).
- 80% AFUE is an editable starting point for an existing gas furnace. Older furnaces can be lower, which favors the heat pump.
- SEER2 and HSPF2 are seasonal averages from a test procedure. Real use shifts with weather, duct leakage and thermostat habits.
- Tiered and time-of-use electricity rates mean your extra kWh may cost more or less than your average rate. Treat the result as a range.
- The tool assumes the same tons for both systems and ignores maintenance, gas service charges and any rebate.
- Heat pump install prices by size come from one source and are the least settled numbers here.
We are a publisher, not a contractor, and the calculator promises no saving. Questions go to hello@acinstallationlosangeles.com.
Sources
- 10 CFR 430.32(c), Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- NOAA NCEI, U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020, annual/seasonal (stations USW00023174, USW00093134, USW00023152, USC00049785) (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- LADWP, "Consumer Rebate Program" (retrieved 2026-10-20)
- Reliable Heating and Air (Woodland Hills), AC installation cost in LA and Ventura County (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- Cold Cloud (Glendale), central air cost in Los Angeles (retrieved 2026-09-29)
- E & A Mechanical (Tujunga), heat pump installation cost in Los Angeles (retrieved 2026-09-29)
Questions
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than an AC and gas furnace in Los Angeles?
It depends on your electricity and gas rates and how much you heat. With matched SEER2, cooling costs the same either way. The difference is heating, where the heat pump buys kWh and the furnace buys therms. Enter your own rates to see which side wins.
Where do I find my rates?
On your bills. Divide the total electricity charges by the kWh used, and the gas charges by the therms used, to get an all-in rate. Tiered and time-of-use plans mean the extra kWh a heat pump adds can cost more or less than that average.
How do I estimate the therms I use for heating?
Take a winter month's therms and subtract a summer month's, when the furnace is off and gas goes only to the water heater, stove or dryer. Add up the difference across the heating months.
Why are the default efficiencies so low?
They are the federal minimums for new split systems in California: 14.3 SEER2 and 7.5 HSPF2. That starts both systems on equal terms. If a quote names a model, replace the defaults with its rated SEER2 and HSPF2.
Does the result include rebates?
No. The install ranges are pre-rebate. LADWP, Burbank and Pasadena rebate heat pumps; check the LADWP estimator or the rebate lookup for your utility.
Next step
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- Tell us about the job. Service, ZIP, property and timing. The form says right away if your ZIP is outside the area.
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- Compare what comes back. Line the written quote up against the published ranges and the quote checklist.
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