The short answer
Switch. Baseboard heat is the most expensive heat there is.
Electric baseboard turns one dollar of electricity into one dollar of heat. A heat pump turns one dollar into roughly three dollars of heat, because it moves warmth instead of making it. Same warm house, a fraction of the bill — and you get air conditioning thrown in.
Side by side
Both sides, plainly, including what each one is bad at.
Heat pump
Moves heat in from outside. Also cools in summer.
- Commonly 40 to 60 percent lower heating cost than baseboard
- Air conditioning included, which baseboard can never give you
- Heats the whole room evenly instead of only near the wall
- No hot metal for children or pets to touch
- Real money up front, where baseboard cost you nothing
- There is an outdoor unit, and it is visible
- Takes a day or so to install
Electric baseboard
Electric heaters along the wall. Already in the house.
- Nothing to buy — it is already there
- Each room has its own dial
- Almost nothing ever breaks
- The most expensive heat you can buy, every single month
- Does nothing in summer
- The room is hot by the heater and cold across the room
- The units get hot to the touch
Which one is you?
Switch to a heat pump if…
Your winter electricity bill makes you wince, or any room in the house is uncomfortable, or you have been wanting air conditioning. If you have no ducts, a ductless heat pump mounts on the wall and needs only a three-inch hole to the outside. Whole houses get done this way all the time.
Keep the baseboard if…
It is a cabin or a room you barely heat, or you are moving soon and will not be there long enough to earn the money back. Keeping a couple of baseboards as backup in a spare room is also perfectly sensible.
Want to know what you would actually save?
Tell us what you pay to heat the place now. We will put a real number next to it, and price the system that gets you there.
Get My Upfront Quote60 seconds online · or call (206) 486-6373
What it costs to change over
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
How much cheaper is a heat pump than baseboard, really?
For the same warmth, a heat pump typically uses about a third of the electricity. That is why swapping baseboard for a heat pump usually cuts heating cost by 40 to 60 percent. The exact figure depends on your house and how warm you keep it.
I have no ducts. Can I still get a heat pump?
Yes, and this is the most common case in older Puget Sound homes. A ductless system puts a slim unit on the wall of each room you want heated, connected to one outdoor box by a small pipe. No ductwork is built, and no floors come up.
Do I have to remove the baseboards?
No. Most people leave them in place and simply stop using them. They then sit there as a free backup for the coldest nights or for a room the heat pump does not reach.
Will one wall unit heat my whole house?
It will heat an open living space very well, and warmth drifts down a hallway. Closed bedrooms need their own unit to be properly comfortable. We will walk the house and tell you honestly how many you need — not one more.
Are there rebates for this?
Sometimes. PSE and Washington income-qualified programs may apply, and they change over time. We check what is actually active on the day we quote you.
Stop paying baseboard prices.
Book a visit. We will tell you how many units your house needs and what it costs, upfront.
Get My Upfront Quote60 seconds online · or call (206) 486-6373
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