Heating & Cooling · South
Cost to run a heat pump in Texas
At Texas’s average residential rate of 15.91¢ per kWh, a heat pump drawing 2400W for 10 hours a day, at a 60% duty cycle, costs about $69.74 per 30.44 use days. Change the numbers below to match how you actually use yours.
For seasonal use in Texas, enter the days you actually run this heat pump in the calculator. The reference tables assume 365 use days; they are not a forecast of local weather, your thermostat settings or your annual bill.
Heat Pump electricity cost calculator
Use watts and running time, or enter energy from a label, meter or completed load. Your inputs stay on this device.
Enter a number within each field’s limits to calculate your cost.
Your estimated energy cost
5,256 kWh across 365 use days per year
Power mode includes your selected duty cycle. The monthly figure assumes 30.44 use days; the annual total uses your selected use days. These are estimates at the entered rate.
Energy charges only. Fixed utility fees, purchase, installation and maintenance are excluded. See the calculation method and sources.
Why the cost differs in Texas
Texas has the 22nd cheapest residential electricity of the 50 US states and Washington, DC we track, at 15.91¢ per kWh against a national average of 18.16¢. That is -12.4% compared with the national figure. Texas runs its own grid, ERCOT, largely isolated from the national interconnections, and most households buy from competing retail providers. That matters more here than anywhere: plans vary enormously in structure, including fixed, variable, free-nights and tiered pricing, so your contracted rate may differ sharply from the state average. Summer cooling dominates, and extreme heat events drive both demand and wholesale prices.
For this appliance specifically, the difference works out to a saving of $118 a year against what the same heat pump would cost at the national average rate. Run the identical appliance in Hawaii and it would cost $2,480 a year; in Nevada it would cost $669. That spread of $1,811 is entirely down to location.
Reducing use by 100 kWh would save $15.91 in energy charges at Texas's average rate, compared with $18.16 at the US average. Whether a replacement appliance pays for itself also depends on its purchase price and the energy it actually saves.
Use the energy and delivery price that applies to your own utility plan in Texas. If your plan has time-of-use prices, calculate each period separately or use a rate weighted by the electricity used in each period. Fixed monthly fees are outside this appliance energy-cost estimate.
| Location | Rate | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas this page | 15.91¢ | $69.74 | $836 |
| US average | 18.16¢ | $79.60 | $954 |
| Nevada cheapest state | 12.72¢ | $55.76 | $669 |
| Hawaii most expensive | 47.18¢ | $207 | $2,480 |
Texas electricity rate trend
Rates in Texas have moved from 15.77¢ to 15.91¢ per kWh between September 2025 and August 2026. The national residential average changed +3.4% from the same month a year earlier.
2025-09 to 2026-08 · cents per kWh
About running a heat pump
A heat pump moves heat rather than generating it, delivering two to four units of heat per unit of electricity. In cold snaps below its balance point it falls back on resistance backup strips, which draw far more - this is why heat pump bills spike in extreme cold rather than scaling smoothly.
How we worked this out
The arithmetic is simple and we would rather show it than hide it. Divide watts by 1,000 to get kilowatts, multiply by hours of use and by the duty cycle to get kilowatt-hours, then multiply by your rate:
2400W ÷ 1000 × 10h × 60% = 14.400 kWh/day × 15.91¢ = $2.291 per day
One honest caveat: Texas’s figure is a state average published by the EIA. Your own utility’s tariff, any time-of-use pricing, fixed monthly service charges and local taxes all shift the real number. Put your actual per-kWh rate into the calculator above for a figure that reflects your bill.
How to estimate your heat pump electricity use
A heat pump moves heat. Its electrical input is different from the heating or cooling output shown in BTU/hour or tons, and both input and efficiency can change with outdoor temperature and operating speed.
The default watts and duty cycle do not predict your climate, building heat loss or equipment COP. A COP example is an assumption, not a savings guarantee.
- Enter electrical input watts from a representative operating condition or measured average power. Do not enter heating output or treat one ton of cooling as electrical input.
- If comparing equal delivered heat, electrical energy equals heat delivered divided by coefficient of performance (COP). For an illustrative COP of 3, delivering 9 kWh of heat needs 3 kWh of electricity.
- Auxiliary resistance heaters, defrost and indoor fans can add consumption. Account for them separately if the whole-system measurement does not include them.
- For a variable-speed unit, representative measured kWh can be more useful than a maximum nameplate wattage and guessed duty cycle. Estimate heating and cooling seasons separately.
Calculation and data sources
Daily kWh = watts ÷ 1,000 × hours × duty cycle ÷ 100. Multiply kWh by your rate in dollars per kWh to get cost. The wattage, hours and duty cycle above are editable example assumptions, not EIA measurements of this appliance.
The US and state average prices come from the EIA for August 2026. A state average is a starting point; your bill is the better source for your tariff.
Questions about heat pump running costs
How much electricity does a heat pump use?
In this example, 2400 watts at a 60% duty cycle uses 1.440 kWh per scheduled hour. At 10.00 hours per day, that is 14.400 kWh per use day. Your model and operating conditions can differ.
How much does it cost to run a heat pump for an hour?
The default example costs $0.229 per scheduled hour at the Texas average of 15.91¢/kWh for August 2026. This includes the selected duty cycle. Enter your watts, duty cycle and electricity price for your own estimate.
Does the annual cost assume I use it every day?
The reference tables use 365 days at the stated daily hours; monthly figures use 30.44 days. These are comparison scenarios, not forecasts. For a heater used on 90 days, enter 90 use days per year in the calculator.
Why does electricity running cost vary by state?
For August 2026, the EIA state averages range from 12.72¢/kWh in Nevada to 47.18¢/kWh in Hawaii. Equal electricity use costs more at a higher rate. Your utility tariff can differ from the state average.
Can I enter the heat pump output in BTU/hour as watts?
No. The calculator needs electrical input power. BTU/hour and tons usually describe heat transferred. Use the electrical input from performance data or a representative measurement.
Why can heat pump bills rise in cold weather?
Heating demand, compressor operation, defrost and auxiliary resistance heat can all change. A single wattage and duty-cycle estimate does not model those changes automatically.
Is a heat pump cheaper than electric resistance heat?
For the same delivered heat, a heat pump operating above a COP of 1 uses less electricity than resistance heat. Actual cost depends on seasonal performance, auxiliary heat, the heating task and the applicable electricity rate.