Heat pump vs oil heating cost

Compare oil heating and a heat pump supplying the same yearly useful heat. Useful heat is the heat delivered to the home, after furnace losses. Enter heating-only oil litres and the actual delivered price per litre. Add the furnace’s seasonal efficiency and lower and higher whole-system heat pump ratios.

Enter annual fixed oil-system costs separately. Remove them only when those costs really end after changing systems. The results show energy costs, yearly savings, monthly averages and an economic break-even COP. Optional simple payback uses your extra installation quote after the actual grant, rather than an assumed equipment replacement price.

Useful heat = litres × fuel MJ per litre ÷ 3.6 × seasonal furnace efficiency. Heat pump input is useful heat divided by seasonal COP. Variable fuel prices and fixed annual costs are separate; remove fixed costs only if they actually end. Simple payback divides incremental net installed cost by positive annual saving.

COP means coefficient of performance: heat delivered divided by electricity used. SCOP is this ratio over a season. A ratio of 4 means 4 kWh of heat per 1 kWh of electricity. Use the ratio itself, without a percent conversion.

Use a percentage as a fraction once: for example, 50% means 50 ÷ 100 = 0.5. Use 0.5 in the energy formula; do not divide it by 100 again.

Quebec standard Rate D prices the first 40 kWh per billing day at one rate and the rest at a second rate. Heating cost is the electricity line with heating minus the same line without it. The daily access charge cancels. The annual scenario repeats your entered daily profile.

Economic break-even COP matches variable heating costs only. Above that ratio, the heat pump’s variable cost is lower. Fixed costs and installation are excluded from that threshold. It does not give a switching temperature for a hybrid system.

These illustrative inputs are separate from your saved answers. Prices, use and performance are held constant for this worked scenario; they are not personal defaults.

Oil energy content and furnace efficiency must use the same energy basis. Use the stored generic content where appropriate or the supplier’s stated MJ per litre. MJ means megajoules, an energy unit. Do not treat litres of fuel as kWh of useful heat.

Use seasonal heat pump ratios that include defrost and electric backup. A test-point COP is not a winter forecast. The lower and higher costs hold the same heat demand and prices; only your performance bounds change. Furnace auxiliary electricity and hybrid fuel-switching schedules are outside this comparison.

Existing electricity fixed charges are excluded. Oil fixed costs remain unless you select that they end. Simple payback holds annual savings constant and does not include finance, replacement or future price changes. Zero or negative savings have no finite payback. Money is rounded for display, using unrounded intermediate values.

Enter tax-inclusive Canadian oil and electricity prices. Use the delivered oil price for the same type of fuel and period as your consumption records. Electricity bill prices are entered in cents per kWh. Check the units beside each field before comparing the totals.

The Quebec standard Rate D option needs a matching account and dated rate. Enter other household electricity without heating and the representative billing days. Confirm that the same daily profile applies to the scenario. The tool does not supply a province-wide blended price or verify your personal usage. Source dates describe stored records.

Ask a qualified heating contractor to check the assessed heat demand, seasonal performance and safe oil equipment removal. Bring oil delivery records, furnace details and the proposed installation quote.

Ask which fixed costs would end and whether the whole system can meet cold-weather needs. The estimate does not confirm installation suitability or grant eligibility. Follow the maker instructions and applicable local requirements before changing equipment.