Gas Furnace vs. Heat Pump in BC: Running Costs Compared (2026)

If you're comparing a new high-efficiency gas furnace to a heat pump in the Lower Mainland, the running costs are close. Closer than most sales pitches on either side will admit. For the example house below, the gap is at most about $150 a year, and it can tip either way.

The gap gets much bigger if your current furnace is old. That's where the real savings are.

Here's the math, using FortisBC and BC Hydro rates.

The rates we're working with

Gas. FortisBC's residential rate for the Lower Mainland, as of July 1, 2026, adds up to about $12.60 per gigajoule once you combine delivery, storage and transport, and the cost of gas. There's also a basic charge of about 42 cents a day. BC dropped the consumer carbon tax in April 2025, so that line is gone from your gas bill.

Electricity. BC Hydro's residential rates sit at roughly 12 to 15 cents per kWh, depending on which plan you're on and how much you use. If you heat with a heat pump, the optional flat rate is usually the one to look at. We've used about 13 cents for the flat rate and about 14.6 cents for the higher tier of the standard plan.

Both of these are before GST, and both change at least once a year.

What a unit of heat costs

Gas and electricity are sold in different units, so the fair way to compare is the cost of one kWh of heat actually delivered into your house.

A heat pump can be 250% to 300% efficient because it moves heat from outside instead of making it. For every kWh of electricity it uses, it delivers two and a half to three kWh of heat. That number drops on cold days and climbs on mild ones. Our winters are mostly mild, which is why heat pumps do well here.

An example house

Take a detached house that needs about 50 GJ of heat over a winter. That's a made-up but reasonable number for an average-sized Lower Mainland home. Your house may need more or less.

So a heat pump running well beats a new furnace by about $50 a year. A heat pump having an average season on the wrong rate plan costs about $150 a year more. Neither number is going to change your life.

Now compare the heat pump to a 65% furnace: at 300% it saves about $365 a year, and at 250% on the flat rate about $240. Against an old furnace, almost anything new wins.

The gas basic charge

You pay FortisBC about $154 a year in basic charges just for having a gas connection. Switching to a heat pump only saves you that money if you get rid of gas completely. If you still have a gas water heater, range, or fireplace, the basic charge stays.

So why do people switch?

If running costs are about even, the decision usually comes down to other things:

• Air conditioning. A heat pump cools in summer. If you were going to add AC anyway, you're getting two systems in one.

• Rebates. There's no general rebate for swapping an old gas furnace for a new one. Most of the rebate money in BC is for heat pumps, and some of it is substantial, especially for income-qualified households.

• Upfront cost. A heat pump usually costs more to install than a furnace before rebates. We break that down in our heat pump installation cost guide.

• Where rates are headed. Nobody knows. Gas delivery charges have gone up, and so have BC Hydro's rates. Anyone promising you a specific savings number ten years out is guessing.

Dual fuel: the middle option

A dual fuel setup pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace. The heat pump handles most of the season, and the furnace takes over on the coldest days, when the heat pump is least efficient.

For a lot of Lower Mainland homes this is a sensible fit. You get cooling, you keep gas as backup, and you don't need the heat pump sized for the one week in January when it drops to minus 10. FortisBC has offered rebates for dual fuel systems; check their site for what's current.

The downside is you're buying and maintaining two pieces of equipment, and you keep paying the gas basic charge.

When sticking with gas makes sense

A heat pump isn't the right call for every house. Gas is often the simpler answer if:

• Your electrical panel is 100 amps and already full. A panel upgrade can add thousands.

• Your ductwork is undersized. Heat pumps move more air at a lower temperature, and small ducts can mean noisy, uneven heat.

• There's nowhere good to put the outdoor unit, or your strata won't allow one.

• Your furnace is only a few years old. Replacing a working 96% furnace to save $50 a year doesn't add up.

In that last case, the cheapest thing you can do is keep it running well. Here's how often to service a furnace in BC and what maintenance costs.

How to run the numbers for your own house

Pull out your FortisBC bills from last winter and add up the gigajoules you used from November through March. Subtract a bit for your water heater if it's gas (summer bills give you a good idea of that baseline). Then:

1. Multiply the heating GJ by your furnace's efficiency (0.80 for a mid-efficiency unit, for example). That's the heat your house actually needs.

2. Multiply that by 278 to convert to kWh of heat.

3. Divide by 2.5 or 3 to get the kWh a heat pump would use.

4. Multiply by your BC Hydro rate.

That gives you a rough heat pump cost to compare against what you paid for gas. It won't be exact, but it'll tell you whether you're looking at big savings or a wash.

If the math is confusing or your furnace is on its way out and you need a decision soon, we can look at your setup and price both options.

Get a quote on either one

Ark Plumbing & Heating installs and services furnaces and heating systems across the Lower Mainland, including Burnaby, Surrey, Langley, Delta, and New Westminster. Our team includes licensed gasfitters, and quotes are written out up front.

Call 604-441-3411 or request a free quote, and we'll get back to you within 24 hours.

Related: Furnace Service & Repair and How Much Does a Furnace Repair Cost in BC?