How Much Does It Cost to Heat a 1,200 Square Foot House?

Heating a 1,200 sq ft house in a moderate climate with average insulation takes about 36 million BTU a year. At example prices (natural gas $1.45 a therm, electricity $0.17 a kWh, propane $2.80 and heating oil $3.90 a gallon) that costs about $549 with natural gas, $717 with a heat pump, $1,160 with propane, $1,193 with heating oil and $1,794 with electric baseboards. Change the prices below to the ones on your own bills, and if your winters are long, with weeks below freezing, use the Cold and Very cold rows of the climate table.

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Heated floor area

Winter climate

Rough planning rows, not a published map. Mild: heating needed only a few months, with few nights below freezing. Moderate: a full heating season with regular freezing nights. Cold: long winters with weeks below freezing. Very cold: months of freezing weather and days well below zero. Pick the row that matches how long your heating runs; your own bills are the best check.

Insulation and air tightness

Gas or propane furnace efficiency (AFUE)

Oil furnace or boiler efficiency (AFUE)

Only used for heating oil. Look for the AFUE on the furnace or boiler label, or ask your oil company. A new oil hot-water boiler must be at least 86%.

Heat pump efficiency over the winter (COP)

A COP of 2.5 means 2.5 units of heat for each unit of electricity.

Electricity, per kWh example price

From your bill. The US average is around 15 to 18 cents. Leave blank or enter 0 to leave electric heat and the heat pump out.

Natural gas, per therm example price

Bills show a price per therm or per ccf (a ccf is about 1.04 therms, so the numbers are close). Leave blank or enter 0 if you have no gas: it is left out of the comparison.

Propane, per gallon example price

Heating oil, per gallon example price

Firewood, per cord example price

Seasoned hardwood, delivered and stacked. If you cut your own, enter what the saw, fuel and your time are worth. Leave blank or enter 0 if you do not burn wood: it is left out of the ranking.

Wood pellets, per ton example price

A 40 lb bag at $7.00 is $350 per ton.

Results

Example job shown. Change the numbers to match yours.

Cheapest way to heat your home

Natural gas furnace

$549.47 a year

Heat your home needs each year: 36.0 million BTU
Yearly difference, cheapest to most expensiveThis is the difference, not a cost: Electric baseboard or furnace costs this much more each year than Natural gas furnace: $1,244.20 a year

Yearly cost, cheapest first

Natural gas furnace$15.26 per million BTU of heat, at $1.45 a therm (an example price, so use yours): $549.47 a year
Wood stove (EPA-certified, 70%)$17.86 per million BTU of heat, at $300.00 a cord (an example price, so use yours): $642.86 a year
Heat pump (COP 2.5)$19.93 per million BTU of heat, at $0.17 a kWh (an example price, so use yours): $717.47 a year
Pellet stove (80%)$26.68 per million BTU of heat, at $350.00 a ton (an example price, so use yours): $960.37 a year
Propane furnace$32.21 per million BTU of heat, at $2.80 a gallon (an example price, so use yours): $1,159.62 a year
Heating oil furnace (85%)$33.13 per million BTU of heat, at $3.90 a gallon (an example price, so use yours): $1,192.61 a year
Electric baseboard or furnace$49.82 per million BTU of heat, at $0.17 a kWh (an example price, so use yours): $1,793.67 a year

Fuel only: equipment, installation, maintenance, chimneys and your time are not included. Heating needs are a rule-of-thumb estimate of the annual heat per square foot for your climate, so use the comparison between fuels more than the exact dollars.

Blueprint

Gas $549 a year

Yearly cost to heat 1,200 sq ft, by fuel

A moderate climate and average insulation, so the house needs about 36.0 million BTU of heat a year. The prices are examples, the calculator's starting values, not a quote for your area: electricity $0.17 a kWh, natural gas $1.45 a therm, propane $2.80 a gallon, heating oil $3.90 a gallon, firewood $300 a cord and pellets $350 a ton. Type your own prices into the calculator above and every figure updates.

Heating	Example price	Cost a year	Per million BTU of heat
Natural gas furnace	$1.45 a therm	$549	$15.26
Wood stove	$300 a cord	$643	$17.86
Heat pump	$0.17 a kWh	$717	$19.93
Pellet stove	$350 a ton	$960	$26.68
Propane furnace	$2.80 a gallon	$1,160	$32.21
Heating oil furnace	$3.90 a gallon	$1,193	$33.13
Electric baseboard or furnace	$0.17 a kWh	$1,794	$49.82

The gas and propane furnaces are 95% efficient, the oil furnace 85%, the wood stove 70%, the pellet stove 80% and the heat pump delivers 2.5 units of heat for each unit of electricity (COP 2.5). Fuel only: equipment, installation and upkeep are not counted.

By climate

The same 1,200 sq ft house with average insulation, at the same example prices. Pick the row that matches your winters. The heat pump column keeps a COP of 2.5 in every row; in cold winters many average nearer 2.0, which puts the Cold row at about $1,345 and the Very cold row at about $1,794 instead. The wood and pellet columns assume one stove heats the whole house, which it seldom does in practice.

Climate	Million BTU a year	Gas	Heat pump	Propane	Oil	Electric	Wood	Pellets
Mild (15 kBTU per sq ft)	18.0	$275	$359	$580	$596	$897	$321	$480
Moderate (30 kBTU per sq ft)	36.0	$549	$717	$1,160	$1,193	$1,794	$643	$960
Cold (45 kBTU per sq ft)	54.0	$824	$1,076	$1,739	$1,789	$2,691	$964	$1,441
Very cold (60 kBTU per sq ft)	72.0	$1,099	$1,435	$2,319	$2,385	$3,587	$1,286	$1,921

By insulation

A moderate climate. A drafty house needs about a quarter more heat than an average one, and a tight one about a fifth less.

Insulation	Million BTU a year	Gas	Heat pump	Propane	Oil	Electric	Wood	Pellets
Well insulated	28.8	$440	$574	$928	$954	$1,435	$514	$768
Average	36.0	$549	$717	$1,160	$1,193	$1,794	$643	$960
Poor or drafty	45.0	$687	$897	$1,450	$1,491	$2,242	$804	$1,200

How much the furnace efficiency matters

For 1,200 sq ft in a moderate climate at $1.45 a therm, a standard 80% gas furnace costs about $653 a year, a 90% one $580 and a 95% condensing furnace $549. Going from 80% to 95% saves about $103 a year.

On propane the same step saves more, because each unit of heat costs more: $1,377 a year at 80% against $1,160 at 95%, at $2.80 a gallon. In a house this size the saving is modest, so a working furnace is rarely worth replacing for efficiency alone.

These are planning estimates. The heat a house needs is a rule-of-thumb figure per square foot for the climate, so trust the comparison between fuels more than the exact dollars, and check last winter's bills if you have them.

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