Heat pump or new furnace and AC? For Con Edison customers

For Con Edison customers in New York, on the utility's current tariff, local weather.

Quick answer · updated

As of November 2026, for a typical 1,800 sq ft gas-heated home on Con Edison electricity rates in New York that needs a new furnace and AC: It depends on your quotes. A high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump costs about $40 a year more to run, so it only comes out ahead if its quote is at least $600 below the quote for a new furnace and AC.

Cite or reuse this answer

MeterWise, "Heat pump vs. gas furnace and AC on Con Edison rates (NY)", updated 2026-11-10, https://meterwise.app/ny/con-edison/heat-pump-vs-furnace/. Data licensed CC BY 4.0. Also as Markdown and JSON.

Electricity

37.0¢/kWh

+30% vs. New York average

Heating fuel

$1.65/therm

Gas: 64% of homes here

Climate

4,553

heating degree days · NY City Cntrl Park HCN 72506

Rebates

Not checked

not yet researched in New York

Our estimate for this home

It depends on your quotes

It depends on your quotes. A high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump costs about $40 a year more to run, so it only comes out ahead if its quote is at least $600 below the quote for a new furnace and AC.

Heat pump only wins below $12,100 A new furnace and AC quote $12,800 Typical high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump quote $16,700
Quotes before rebates. The shaded part of the bar is where a heat pump quote still has the lower 15-year cost.

New gas furnace + new AC

Lowest 15-year cost

Installed
$12,800$10,000–$15,500
Energy per year
$1,380Baseline
15-year total
$33,400
Payback
Baseline

Heat pump (replaces both)

Installed
$12,800$8,900–$16,700
Energy per year
$1,800Costs $420/yr
15-year total
$39,700
Payback
Same price up front, costs more to run

High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump

Installed
$16,700$12,200–$22,200
Energy per year
$1,420Costs $40/yr
15-year total
$37,900
Payback
Never pays back

Total cost over 15 years

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

$0$10K$20K$30K$40KInstallYear 5Year 10Year 15 Heat pump $39,700 High-efficiency HP $37,900 Furnace + AC $33,400
  • New gas 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 gas furnace + new AC Lowest 15-year cost $12,800
$10,000–$15,500
$1,380
$33,400 Baseline
Heat pump (replaces both) $12,800
$8,900–$16,700
$1,800
costs $420/yr
$39,700 Same price up front, costs more to run
High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump $16,700
$12,200–$22,200
$1,420
costs $40/yr
$37,900 Never pays back

What this is based on

  • Electricity: SC-1 - Residential & Religious Service - Zone I [NYC] tariff for Con Edison, effective 2025-02-01, from the U.S. Utility Rate Database, applied tier by tier to the extra kWh.
  • Weather: NY City Cntrl Park HCN 72506 (4,553 heating and 1,222 cooling degree days a year, 1991-2020).
  • Heating fuel prices (EIA): gas $1.65/therm (New York, average of the last five winter months); propane $3.74/gallon (New York average this heating season); heating oil $6.35/gallon (New York average this heating season).
  • Homes in Con Edison's New York area heat with gas 64%, electricity 15%, heating oil 14%, propane 3% (U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023). The calculator starts with gas, the most common furnace fuel here; pick yours above.
  • New York HVAC installer wages are 22% above the U.S. median (BLS), so installed prices are scaled by 1.11.
  • Energy use for heating and cooling:
    • New gas furnace + new AC: 1,840 kWh and 435 therms a year for heating and cooling
    • Heat pump (replaces both): 5,157 kWh a year for heating and cooling
    • High-efficiency cold-climate heat pump: 4,075 kWh a year for heating and cooling

Rebates

  • We haven't checked heat pump rebates in New York yet, so these numbers leave them out. Utility and state programs can take thousands off a heat pump: ask Con Edison 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 New York numbers

How Con Edison's rates change the answer

Con Edison's electricity price for a typical home is 30% above the New York average ($0.370 vs. $0.285 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, gas heat is cheaper to run than a heat pump for a typical home here.

Common questions

Is a heat pump worth it for Con Edison customers?

It depends on your quotes. A high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump costs about $40 a year more to run, so it only comes out ahead if its quote is at least $600 below the quote for a new furnace and AC. This is for a typical 1,800 sq ft home with average insulation that heats with gas 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 Con Edison's rates?

About $1,420 a year for heating and cooling with a high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump (4,075 kWh), compared with about $1,380 a year for a new furnace and AC, for a typical 1,800 sq ft home with weather like NY City Cntrl Park HCN's.

How much does a heat pump cost to install in New York?

Our typical installed price for a high-efficiency cold-climate heat pump in New York is about $16,650 (range $12,210 to $22,200), against about $12,765 for a new furnace and AC. Prices are published study ranges scaled for home size and New York installer wages; rebates in New York have not been checked yet, so they are not included. Always compare real quotes.

What electricity price does this use?

Electricity: SC-1 - Residential & Religious Service - Zone I [NYC] tariff for Con Edison, effective 2025-02-01, from the U.S. Utility Rate Database, applied tier by tier to the extra kWh.

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.