Cost to heat a home in Hawaii
Cheapest to run in Hawaii is
a gas furnace
A gas furnace costs about $0 a year less than a heat pump here. Cheap gas relative to electricity is the reason, and no amount of equipment efficiency closes that gap at these prices.
A heating season compared
| Gas furnacecheapest80% AFUE | $0 |
| Heat pumpHSPF2 8.5 | $0 |
| Electric resistanceBaseboard or furnace | $0 |
At 52.00¢ a kilowatt hour and $6.83 a therm, for a 1,800 square foot home over 0 heating degree days.
Heating barely matters here
Hawaii runs only about 0 heating degree days and sees around 0 freezing nights a year. Heating is a small enough share of the bill that the choice of system matters far less than it does further north — cooling is where the money goes.
Common questions
Is a heat pump cheaper than gas heating in Hawaii?
No. At Hawaii's prices a gas furnace costs about $0 a season against $0 for a heat pump, so switching would raise running costs by roughly $0 a year. Cheap gas, not poor equipment, is the reason.
What does it cost to heat a house in Hawaii for a winter?
Between about $0 and $0 for a 1,800 square foot home, depending entirely on the system. Hawaii runs around 0 heating degree days a year.
Why is electric resistance heat so much more expensive?
It converts electricity to heat one for one, while a heat pump moves heat rather than making it and delivers two to three times as much per unit of electricity. In Hawaii that difference is about $0 a season.
Work it out for your home
These assume a 1,800 square foot home and typical equipment. The calculator takes your ZIP code, your floor area and your actual furnace efficiency, and includes what switching would cost to install.
Prices from the US Energy Information Administration, residential sector, 2026-05. Heating load estimated from Hawaii's heating degree days. An estimate, not a bill — insulation, air sealing, ductwork and thermostat habits all move it, and no calculator can see those.