# How much will a heat pump add to your electric bill in Sacramento?

> What a heat pump does to your electric bill around Sacramento: SMUD, PG&E and Roseville Electric rates, cost per therm of heat, summer peaks and bill traps.

URL: https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-electric-bill-sacramento/

Learn

How heating moves from the gas bill to the electric bill, what a therm of heat costs under each local rate plan, how summer peaks and fixed charges work, and the settings that keep a heat pump's bill from creeping up.

A heat pump adds heating to the electric bill and removes it from the gas bill. In SMUD territory the trade usually comes out ahead: at SMUD’s winter off-peak price, a heat pump running at a COP of 3 delivers a therm’s worth of heat for about $1.26, against about $2.67 from a 95% gas furnace. On PG&E’s E-ELEC rate the two cost about the same.

[Tule Sacramento Heat Pump](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/) installs ducted heat pumps across Sacramento and the towns around it, with the work carried out by licensed and insured contractors. Built from SMUD, Roseville Electric and PG&E published rates, which change by season, this guide helps you read your own bill; it is not a forecast.

Key takeaways

- SMUD Time-of-Day, outside summer: $0.1285 per kWh off-peak, $0.1776 weekdays 5 to 8 p.m.
- PG&E E-ELEC, winter: about 28 to 32 cents per kWh; open to homes with a heat pump as primary heating and cooling
- Roseville Electric: tiered, $0.1469 up to 500 kWh a month and $0.1912 above, plus small surcharges
- At a COP of 3, each therm of furnace gas you stop burning becomes about 9.3 kWh of electricity (derived)
- Backup heat strips and deep setbacks are the most common reasons a bill runs higher than expected

## Who sets your price

The electric utility, not the equipment, decides most of the bill. Three providers meet inside the metro, while PG&E supplies gas everywhere.

| Utility and plan | Winter price per kWh | Summer price per kWh | Fixed charge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SMUD Time-of-Day (standard) | $0.1285 off-peak; $0.1776 weekdays 5 to 8 p.m. | $0.1550 off-peak; $0.2139 mid-peak; $0.3765 weekdays 5 to 8 p.m. | $27 a month |
| SMUD Fixed Rate option | $0.1371 | $0.2189 | $27 a month |
| Roseville Electric | $0.1469 Tier 1 (to 500 kWh); $0.1912 Tier 2, plus surcharges | Same tiers | Monthly basic service charge |
| PG&E E-ELEC | About 28 cents off-peak to 32 cents at the 4 to 9 p.m. peak | About 33 cents off-peak to 55 cents at the peak | Base Services Charge, about $24 a month for most households, lower with CARE or FERA |
| PG&E E-TOU-C (default) | About 37 cents off-peak, 40 cents peak, before the baseline credit | About 40 cents off-peak, 52 cents peak | Same Base Services Charge |

SMUD’s summer season runs June through September; PG&E’s peak runs 4 to 9 p.m. every day. SMUD’s own bill comparison puts an average 750 kWh month at about $149 with SMUD, $156 with Roseville Electric and $290 with PG&E.

### Community choice areas

In Davis and Woodland, generation comes from Valley Clean Energy, and in the Placer County cities and El Dorado Hills from Pioneer Community Energy, with PG&E delivering. Their generation charges replace part of the PG&E bundled price, so check your own bill’s line items against the PG&E figures here.

## What a therm of heat costs on each plan

Heating can be compared by the cost of delivering one therm of heat, about 29.3 kWh. A 95% furnace on PG&E’s G-1 baseline gas rate, about $2.54 per therm, delivers it for about $2.67; on the higher excess-use rate, about $3.20. The table shows a heat pump averaging a COP of 3, an illustrative figure, on each plan.

| Electric plan, winter | Heat pump cost per therm of heat at COP 3 | Break-even COP vs a 95% furnace |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SMUD off-peak | About $1.26 | 1.41 |
| SMUD 5 to 8 p.m. peak | About $1.73 | 1.95 |
| Roseville Electric Tier 1, with surcharges | About $1.51 | 1.70 |
| Roseville Electric Tier 2, with surcharges | About $1.94 | 2.18 |
| PG&E E-ELEC off-peak | About $2.78 | 3.13 |
| PG&E E-ELEC peak | About $3.13 | 3.52 |
| PG&E E-TOU-C off-peak | About $3.59 | 4.04 |

These are derived from the published tariffs, energy charges only, with fixed charges left out because they apply either way. Gas procurement prices change monthly, which shifts every row slightly.

### Turning your gas bill into kWh

Each therm of gas a 95% furnace burns delivers about 0.95 therms of heat. At a COP of 3, the heat pump needs about 9.3 kWh to deliver the same. So a January bill showing 60 therms of furnace gas, an illustrative month, becomes roughly 560 kWh of heat pump electricity.

| Illustrative month: 60 therms of furnace gas | Cost |
| --- | --- |
| Gas at PG&E’s baseline rate | About $152 |
| Heat pump, SMUD, all off-peak to all at peak | About $72 to $99 |
| Heat pump, Roseville Electric Tier 2 | About $111 |
| Heat pump, PG&E E-ELEC, off-peak to peak | About $159 to $179 |

Real winters mix peak and off-peak hours, and a heat pump’s COP falls on the coldest mornings, so treat this as a way to size the change rather than a prediction. The [heat pump vs gas furnace guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-vs-gas-furnace-sacramento/) covers the other differences between the two.

Want the numbers for your own bills?

Bring a winter gas bill and a summer electric bill; the equipment choice and controls setup start from them.

## Summer: the same job, different hours

In summer a heat pump is an air conditioner, so it uses about what an AC of the same SEER2 rating and size would. What changes the bill is when it runs.

### Working around the peak

SMUD’s highest price, $0.3765 per kWh, falls on weekdays from 5 to 8 p.m. in summer, and PG&E’s peak runs 4 to 9 p.m. daily. Pre-cooling the house in the afternoon and letting a variable-speed system coast through the evening keeps more of the load off-peak. A system sized from a load calculation rather than the old tonnage helps too. The [hot weather guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-hot-weather/) covers performance on 100°F days.

### Roseville’s tiers

Roseville Electric has no residential time-of-use schedule. Its second tier starts above 500 kWh a month, so total monthly use, not the hour, drives the Roseville bill, and a heat pump’s added winter use is billed at the Tier 2 price once the month passes 500 kWh. The [Roseville service area page](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/service-areas/roseville/) covers the rest of the local picture.

## The rate plan question

### PG&E: E-ELEC

PG&E’s E-ELEC rate is open to households using an electric heat pump as their primary heating and cooling. Its winter off-peak price, about 28 cents per kWh, sits well below E-TOU-C’s roughly 37 cents. For a PG&E-electric home in [Davis](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/service-areas/davis/), West Sacramento or Rocklin, switching plans after the install can matter as much as the equipment’s efficiency.

### SMUD: Time-of-Day, Fixed Rate and Low Use

SMUD’s standard residential rate is Time-of-Day, with the Fixed Rate as an alternative. SMUD’s Time-of-Day Low Use rate carries a lower fixed charge but is limited to panels of 125 amps or smaller and usage under about 270 kWh a month, which a heat pump household will generally outgrow.

## Why a heat pump bill runs high

When the bill is higher than expected, the cause is usually in the setup rather than the equipment.

- **Backup strips running too often.** Strips deliver one unit of heat per unit of electricity, a COP of 1, so a thermostat that calls them whenever the setting jumps can erase the savings. The [aux heat and defrost guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-aux-heat-defrost/) explains lockout settings.
- **Deep setbacks.** Recovering several degrees on a cold morning can bring the strips on.
- **Leaky or uninsulated ducts.** Attic ducts that leak lose heated or cooled air before it reaches the rooms, which is why Title 24 tests them on every change-out. See [heat pump ductwork](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/heat-pump-ductwork/).
- **Wrong size.** An oversized system short-cycles; an undersized one leans on the strips. The [sizing guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-sizing/) explains the load calculation.
- **Weather and the house.** A colder month, new loads such as an EV charger, or an addition also move the bill.

No heat pump can promise a fixed saving, because the result depends on your rate, your old system, the house and how it is used. The [SEER2 and HSPF2 guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/seer2-hspf2-ratings/) explains what the efficiency labels can and can’t tell you.

## Next steps

For a quick budget, try the [heat pump cost estimator](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/tools/heat-pump-cost-estimator/). If you are deciding whether a conversion pays off, the [conversion cost guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/gas-furnace-to-heat-pump-conversion-cost/) gives the installed price, and SMUD’s rebate is covered in the [SMUD rebate guide](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/smud-heat-pump-rebates/). For a plan built around your own bills, call (916) 516-1454 or [request an estimate](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/contact/).

## Questions about this guide

### Why did my electric bill jump the first winter after a heat pump install?

Part of the jump is expected: heating moved from the gas bill to the electric bill, so compare the two bills together. A jump beyond that often points to backup heat strips running when they shouldn't, deep night setbacks that the system recovers from on strips, leaky ducts in the attic, or a thermostat not configured for a heat pump. A check of the controls and the aux heat history usually shows which.

### Is SMUD's Fixed Rate or Time-of-Day plan better with a heat pump?

It depends on when the house uses power. SMUD's Time-of-Day rate charges $0.1285 per kWh off-peak and $0.1776 during the weekday 5 to 8 p.m. peak outside summer, against a flat $0.1371 on its Fixed Rate option. A heat pump that runs mostly outside the evening peak does well on Time-of-Day; heavy evening use narrows the gap. Your SMUD usage history shows the split.

### Should a heat pump thermostat be set back at night in winter?

Gently, if at all. A deep setback means a big recovery in the morning, and a thermostat that sees a large gap may call the backup strips, which use far more electricity than the heat pump for the same heat. A small setback, or a smart thermostat set up for heat pump recovery with strips locked out above a set outdoor temperature, avoids that.

Want this answered for your house?

Call with your current system, the rooms that bother you and your ZIP code.

## Related service

Furnace to heat pump conversion

One ducted heat pump in place of the gas furnace and the central AC, sized from a load calculation and tested to Title 24.

## More guides

- Decision Guide [Is a heat pump or a gas furnace better for a Sacramento home?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-vs-gas-furnace-sacramento/)How the two compare on Sacramento's winter mornings, what each costs to run under SMUD, Roseville Electric and PG&E rates, how they differ in comfort, safety and upkeep, and which households should keep gas for now.
- Learn [What is heat pump aux heat, and when should it run in Sacramento?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-aux-heat-defrost/)How backup heat strips, defrost cycles and thermostat controls work together, why the valley floor rarely needs strips for capacity, what they cost to run on each utility's rates, and when a furnace makes the better backup.
- Learn [What do SEER2 and HSPF2 ratings mean for a Sacramento heat pump?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/seer2-hspf2-ratings/)How the cooling and heating efficiency ratings are built, how to turn HSPF2 into a COP you can compare with your utility's break-even figure, and why installation quality decides whether a system reaches its rating.
- Learn [What heat pump rebates are still available in California for Sacramento-area homes?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/california-heat-pump-rebates/)A program-by-program status check for the incentives that used to stack on a heat pump, what each electric utility in the region offers, the income-qualified help that remains, and how to budget when no rebate applies.
- Learn [How does a heat pump hold up in Sacramento's hot weather?](https://tulesacramentoheatpump.com/guide/heat-pump-hot-weather/)What happens inside a heat pump on a 100-degree afternoon, how the design temperature for your town sets its size, why attic ducts and outdoor-unit placement matter, and how to run it around summer peak pricing.