How Much Does It Cost to Run a Heat Pump per Day and Month?

Source: Planning watts of 3,500 and 8 hours a day, hours of compressor running time a day, for heating or cooling. Price: 17.23 cents per kWh, the 2025 US residential average from EIA Form EIA-861.

The monthly cost is 97% of the $150.68 average US electric bill. Because it runs only about 8 months a year, the yearly cost is 8 times the monthly figure, not twelve.

One figure cannot fit every home. These three cases show how much the answer moves with the equipment and the hours.

The lowest case costs $42 a month and the highest $367. Use the calculator above to match your own.

The same heat pump costs different amounts depending on the state, because the price per kWh differs. Here are the three cheapest states, the US average and the three costliest, for the same 851 kWh a month.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Form EIA-861 (final 2025 data). Price is residential revenue divided by sales and includes fixed charges.

See electricity rates in every state to find your own.

A heat pump moves heat between inside and outside instead of making it from electricity. That lets it deliver more than one kWh of heat for each kWh it uses, and it heats and cools with the same equipment.

Cold weather, equipment size and defrost cycles change the draw. In very cold weather some systems switch on electric backup heat, which draws far more power, and that is the main reason a heat pump bill can jump in a cold snap.

For scale, the EIA Residential Energy Consumption Survey found the average US home used about 109 kWh a month on space heating in 2020, and the average detached house about 119 kWh. These averages include homes with no such equipment, so a home that has it uses more.

The range for this kind of appliance runs from about 1,000 to 5,000 watts. At 8 hours a day that is $42 to $210 a month, which is why checking the label on yours is worth the minute.

• Set a steady temperature and avoid big setbacks, which can trigger backup heat.
• Keep the outdoor unit clear of snow and debris.
• Look for rebates, since many states and utilities still have heat pump programs.

Next step: Heat pump rebates. For general ideas, read how to lower your electric bill.

Other appliances in the heating group: Space Heater, Electric Furnace, Baseboard Heater, Electric Blanket, Electric Fireplace.

The cost is watts divided by 1,000, times hours, times your price per kWh. The 3,500 watts is a planning figure for this kind of appliance, set from typical product ratings, and the 8 hours is an assumed day of use. Neither is copied from a federal table. Federal guidance describes the method and warns that real wattage varies, so we publish our own typical ranges and label them as such. Prices come from EIA Form EIA-861 for 2025.

The calculation is the standard one used in the U.S. Department of Energy's consumer guidance on estimating appliance energy use. Wattage varies by product age and features, so the label on your own appliance beats any average. Read more in our methodology.