The short answer
Gas beats electric. A heat pump beats both.
If you already have gas at the house, a modern gas furnace is cheap to run and strong on the coldest nights. If you heat with an electric furnace today, replacing it with another electric furnace is the one choice we would talk you out of — that is exactly when a heat pump pays for itself.
Side by side
Both sides, plainly, including what each one is bad at.
Gas furnace
Burns natural gas to make heat. The cheap-to-run option where gas already reaches the house.
- Far cheaper per unit of heat than an electric furnace
- Strong, immediate heat on the coldest nights of the year
- Commonly 15 to 20 years of service life
- Needs a gas line, a proper exhaust pipe, and a yearly safety check
- A crack in the metal wall inside it can leak carbon monoxide, which is why we test for it
- More parts that can fail than an electric one
Electric furnace
Heating elements, like a giant toaster. Simple, safe, expensive to run.
- No gas line, no exhaust pipe, no carbon monoxide risk at all
- Cheaper and simpler to install where there is no gas service
- Few parts, and straightforward to service
- Every watt costs you — the most expensive common way to heat a home here
- The elements wear out with switching on and off
- Struggles to feel as strong on a genuinely cold morning
Which one is you?
Gas makes sense if…
Gas already serves the house, you want the lowest running cost with confident heat in a cold snap, and you are happy having a safety check once a year.
Electric makes sense if…
There is no gas at the property and you need heat now at the lowest install cost. Before you commit, price a heat pump. It runs on the same electricity supply and typically cuts that heating bill a long way.
Heating with an electric furnace right now?
That is the single biggest heating-bill change available to you. Let us price a heat pump next to a like-for-like replacement so you can see the difference for yourself.
Get My Upfront Quote60 seconds online · or call (206) 486-6373
What each one costs
Typical industry ranges for Western Washington — not a quote. Your exact price comes upfront, before any work starts, and you approve it first.
Why homeowners hand it to us
- You approve the price first. Upfront quote before a single screw turns.
- Same-day service. Book in a minute, hear from a tech within 1 business hour.
- 500+ jobs done by 4.9★ rated, professional technicians.
- Fixed right, guaranteed. If it’s not right, we make it right.
Quick answers
Which is genuinely cheaper to run here?
Gas, by a clear margin over an electric furnace. But a heat pump moves heat rather than making it, delivering two to four units of warmth for every unit of electricity, which is why it beats both on running cost in our mild winters.
Can I convert an electric furnace to gas?
Only if gas already reaches the property, or the utility can bring it to the meter. That is a question for the gas company before it is a question for us. In a lot of the homes we see, the answer turns out to be a heat pump instead, and it costs less to get there.
Is an electric furnace dangerous?
No, and that is its real advantage. Nothing burns, so there is no exhaust and no carbon monoxide. It is one of the safest ways to heat a house. It is simply the most expensive to run.
How do I tell which one I have?
Look for a pipe carrying exhaust out of the house and a gas line running into the unit. Those mean gas. An electric furnace has neither, just a thick electrical cable and usually a bank of breakers on the side.
Do I have to give up gas to get a heat pump?
No. Many people keep the gas furnace and add a heat pump, so the heat pump handles the mild months and the furnace takes the cold snaps. It suits our climate well.
See all three prices before you choose.
Book the visit. Gas, electric and heat pump, side by side, with what each one will actually cost you to run.
Get My Upfront Quote60 seconds online · or call (206) 486-6373
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