Heat pump or new furnace and AC? For Excelsior Electric Member Corp customers

For Excelsior Electric Member Corp customers in Georgia, on the utility's average price, local weather.

Quick answer · updated

As of November 2026, for a typical 1,800 sq ft electrically heated home on Excelsior Electric Member Corp electricity rates in Georgia that needs a new furnace and AC: It depends on your quotes. A heat pump saves about $410 a year to run, so it comes out ahead over 15 years if its quote is no more than $6,100 above the quote for a new furnace and AC.

Cite or reuse this answer

MeterWise, "Heat pump vs. electric furnace and AC on Excelsior Electric Member Corp rates (GA)", updated 2026-11-10, https://meterwise.app/ga/excelsior-electric-member-corp/heat-pump-vs-furnace/. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. Also as Markdown and JSON.

Electricity

13.6¢/kWh

-10% vs. Georgia average

Heating fuel

Electric

Most homes here heat with electricity (89%)

Climate

1,793

heating degree days · Metter

Rebates

Not checked

not yet researched in Georgia

Our estimate for this home

It depends on your quotes

It depends on your quotes. A heat pump saves about $410 a year to run, so it comes out ahead over 15 years if its quote is no more than $6,100 above the quote for a new furnace and AC.

Heat pump still wins up to $16,200 A new furnace and AC quote $10,100 Typical heat pump quote $11,100
Quotes before rebates. The shaded part of the bar is where a heat pump quote still has the lower 15-year cost.

New electric furnace + new AC

Installed
$10,100$7,300–$13,100
Energy per year
$860Baseline
15-year total
$23,000
Payback
Baseline

Heat pump (replaces both)

Lowest 15-year cost

Installed
$11,100$7,700–$14,400
Energy per year
$450Saves $410/yr
15-year total
$17,900
Payback
2.4 years

High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump

Installed
$14,400$10,600–$19,200
Energy per year
$340Saves $520/yr
15-year total
$19,600
Payback
8.3 years

Total cost over 15 years

Installed cost plus energy, year by year. Hover or tap the chart to compare.

$0$10K$20K$30KInstallYear 5Year 10Year 15 Pays back in year 3 New AC $23,000 High-efficiency HP $19,600 Heat pump $17,900
  • New electric furnace + new AC
  • Heat pump (replaces both)
  • High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump
Show as a table
OptionInstalled cost (typical, range, after rebates)Energy cost per year15-year totalPayback vs. like-for-like
New electric furnace + new AC $10,100
$7,300–$13,100
$860
$23,000 Baseline
Heat pump (replaces both) Lowest 15-year cost $11,100
$7,700–$14,400
$450
saves $410/yr
$17,900 2.4 years
High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump $14,400
$10,600–$19,200
$340
saves $520/yr
$19,600 8.3 years

What this is based on

  • Electricity: Excelsior Electric Member Corp's average residential price in GA (EIA), $0.136/kWh; the winter price of extra kWh is estimated at $0.098/kWh. Enter your own rate for a closer answer.
  • Weather: Metter (1,793 heating and 2,475 cooling degree days a year, 1991-2020).
  • Heating fuel prices (EIA): gas $1.62/therm (Georgia, average of the last five winter months); propane $3.21/gallon (Georgia average this heating season); heating oil $5.93/gallon (regional average this heating season).
  • Homes in Excelsior Electric Member Corp's Georgia area heat with electricity 89%, gas 5%, propane 4% (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023). The calculator starts with electricity; pick yours above.
  • Georgia HVAC installer wages are 8% below the U.S. median (BLS), so installed prices are scaled by 0.96.
  • Energy use for heating and cooling:
    • New electric furnace + new AC: 7,649 kWh a year for heating and cooling
    • Heat pump (replaces both): 3,709 kWh a year for heating and cooling
    • High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump: 2,826 kWh a year for heating and cooling

Rebates

  • We haven't checked heat pump rebates in Georgia yet, so these numbers leave them out. Utility and state programs can take thousands off a heat pump: ask Excelsior Electric Member Corp and your contractor what's available. Each dollar of rebate adds a dollar to the quote gap a heat pump can carry.

What to know about the Georgia numbers

How Excelsior Electric Member Corp's rates change the answer

Excelsior Electric Member Corp's electricity price for a typical home is 10% below the Georgia average ($0.136 vs. $0.151 per kWh). A heat pump moves your heating from gas, propane or oil to electricity, so the electricity price is the biggest single factor: calculators that use a state average can get the answer wrong for your utility. At these prices, a heat pump is cheaper to run than an electric furnace for a typical home here.

Common questions

Is a heat pump worth it for Excelsior Electric Member Corp customers?

It depends on your quotes. A heat pump saves about $410 a year to run, so it comes out ahead over 15 years if its quote is no more than $6,100 above the quote for a new furnace and AC. This is for a typical 1,800 sq ft home with average insulation that heats with electricity and needs both a new furnace and AC; change the details in the calculator above for your home.

How much does a heat pump cost to run on Excelsior Electric Member Corp's rates?

About $450 a year for heating and cooling with a heat pump (3,709 kWh), compared with about $860 a year for a new furnace and AC, for a typical 1,800 sq ft home with weather like Metter's.

How much does a heat pump cost to install in Georgia?

Our typical installed price for a heat pump in Georgia is about $11,063 (range $7,696 to $14,430), against about $10,101 for a new furnace and AC. Prices are published study ranges scaled for home size and Georgia installer wages; rebates in Georgia have not been checked yet, so they are not included. Always compare real quotes.

What electricity price does this use?

Electricity: Excelsior Electric Member Corp's average residential price in GA (EIA), $0.136/kWh; the winter price of extra kWh is estimated at $0.098/kWh. Enter your own rate for a closer answer.

How we calculate this

Heating and cooling need

Your home's yearly heating and cooling need comes from 1991-2020 NOAA climate normals for the nearest weather station, scaled by floor area and insulation level. If you know last winter's gas use, compare it with the therms in the energy-use list above.

Heating fuels

Choose the fuel your furnace burns: gas, propane, heating oil or electricity. Gas uses the state's average residential price over the last five winter months; propane and heating oil use the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly residential prices for this heating season (state, regional or U.S. average, as available), converted by heat content (91,500 Btu per gallon of propane, 138,500 per gallon of oil). An electric furnace is priced through the same electricity rates as the heat pump. The starting fuel is the most common furnace fuel in the utility's area (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey).

Equipment efficiency

New gas or propane furnace 95% AFUE, new oil furnace 85%, electric furnace 100%; new AC SEER2 13.4; standard heat pump SEER2 15.2 / HSPF2 7.8; high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump SEER2 21.5 / HSPF2 10.6. Heat pump efficiency falls as it gets colder, and in cold months part of the heat comes from backup electric strips (or your old furnace, if you keep it). Existing equipment is assumed to be 15-20 years old: an 80% gas or propane furnace, a 78% oil furnace or a SEER2 9.5 AC.

Installed costs

Installed prices vary a lot, so we show a typical price and a range for a home of about 1,800 sq ft with existing ductwork, scaled for larger or smaller homes: furnace and AC together $9,000–$14,000; furnace alone $3,800–$7,000; AC alone $4,500–$9,000; standard heat pump $8,000–$15,000; high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump $11,000–$20,000; electrical panel upgrade, if needed, $1,500–$4,000. These are national figures drawn from published studies and program data (NESCAUM / Energy Solutions, Heat Pumps in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic: Costs and Market Trends (October 2024); Rewiring America, Upfront cost of home electrification (March 2024); EIA, Updated Buildings Sector Appliance and Equipment Costs and Efficiencies (2023)). The most useful number here is how much more a heat pump can cost than a like-for-like quote and still come out ahead: get quotes for both and compare.

Labor and rebates

Half of each installed price is treated as labor and scaled by the state's median HVAC installer wage relative to the U.S. median (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Listed rebates are subtracted when the box is ticked; per-ton rebates assume about one ton of capacity per 600 sq ft. Rebates change often and have eligibility rules, so confirm with the program before you buy.

Not included

Financing, maintenance (similar for all options), local town rebates, and changes in energy prices over time.