Cost analysis: current heating or a heat pump?
Independent site: no ads, no cookies, no affiliate links.
This tool compares the annual cost of your current heating with a heat pump, then estimates the payback period. Every default comes from a cited source; where no reliable data exists, the field is required and left blank. All calculations run in your browser.
1. Current heating
Adjusts the default heating need: 12,540 kWh × (locality HDD ÷ Montréal HDD). Degree-days: ECCC 1981–2010 normals. Site-estimated assumption: Hydro-Québec’s average corresponds to Montréal’s climate.
Default: average detached house heated with electricity, 22,000 kWh/yr of which 57% is space heating (Hydro-Québec). Replace with your own value: for baseboards, ≈ your winter kWh minus your base consumption.
If you enter it, the need is recalculated: quantity × energy content × efficiency.
2. Heat pump
Default: Canadian minimum for region 5 (climate similar to Ottawa); products on the market: 7.1 to 13.2 (NRCan). Use the value from your model’s AHRI certificate. Seasonal COP = HSPF ÷ 3.412.
No reliable public data: it depends on the model, sizing and climate. Standard heat pumps generally heat down to −8 °C, “cold-climate” models down to −20 °C; backup heat is needed in extreme cold (Québec.ca). The rest is supplied by your current system (hybrid mode).
Rate D as of April 1, 2026, price above 40 kWh/day (11.142¢), which applies to most winter heating; before taxes (Hydro-Québec).
LogisVert: $50 (ENERGY STAR) or $120 (cold climate) per 1,000 BTU/h à −8 °C, maximum $6,700 (Hydro-Québec). Calculate it below or enter the amount shown in the LogisVert portal.
Conservative estimate: × 70% (cold climate; ENERGY STAR floor at −15 °C, source, applied at −8 °C as a precaution, site-estimated) or × 45% (standard, site-estimated). Check the real value in Hydro-Québec’s list.
Assumptions and limits. Energy prices change (heating oil varies weekly) and are shown before taxes. Real performance depends on installation, sizing, insulation and your region’s climate. Savings are calculated at constant prices, with no discounting, maintenance, equipment replacement or air conditioning. This is not financial advice: have the project confirmed by an RBQ-licensed contractor.
Frequently asked questions
Is a heat pump cheaper to run than electric baseboards?
Generally yes, for the share of heating it provides: Hydro-Québec says it can use up to three times less energy than baseboards. In extreme cold, baseboards or another backup take over, which reduces the real savings.
Which electricity price should I use for heating?
Winter heating usually exceeds 40 kWh per day, so the second-tier Rate D price (11.142¢/kWh as of April 1, 2026, before taxes) is a reasonable assumption.
Is the payback calculation reliable?
It’s an order of magnitude: it assumes constant prices and ignores maintenance, equipment replacement and air conditioning. Real performance depends on the installation and the climate.
Calculation method
- Useful heat need (kWh): Hydro-Québec default (12,540 kWh) adjusted for climate by the ECCC degree-day ratio (locality ÷ Montréal, site-estimated assumption), your own value, or fuel quantity × energy content × efficiency.
- Cost before = need ÷ (energy content × efficiency) × price.
- Seasonal COP = HSPF ÷ 3.412. Heat pump electricity = need × share covered ÷ COP.
- Backup = need × (1 − share covered), paid at the current system’s price and efficiency.
- Savings = cost before − cost after. Simple payback = (installed cost − rebate) ÷ savings, for the low and high ends of the cost range.
Sources for default values
- Electricity: Hydro-Québec, electricity rates in effect April 1, 2026 (Rate D: 7.065¢ for the first 40 kWh/day, 11.142¢ for the rest, 46.154¢/day system access charge).
- Heating oil: Régie de l’énergie, weekly light heating oil survey, week of October 12, 2026 — Québec weighted average 238.00¢/L before discount, before GST/QST.
- Oil efficiency: 78%, minimum AFUE required since 1998 for oil-fired furnaces; old cast-iron-head burners: about 60% (NRCan, Heating with Oil).
- Energy content: electricity 3.6 MJ/kWh, heating oil 38.2 MJ/L, natural gas 37.5 MJ/m³, propane 25.3 MJ/L, hardwood 30,600 MJ/cord (Statistics Canada).
- Heating need: Hydro-Québec, consumption by type of home.
- Heat pump: NRCan, heating and cooling with a heat pump.
- Installation cost: BranchéQC (private source, indicative). Central: no reliable range; quote spread observed by Protégez-Vous.
- Degree-days: climate normals 1981–2010, ECCC.
- Natural gas: the total price depends onÉnergir’s distribution and supply rates; enter the all-in average price from your bill. Propane and wood: no official price for Québec, so the field is required.