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 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.
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 covers the other differences between the two.
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 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 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, 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 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.
- Wrong size. An oversized system short-cycles; an undersized one leans on the strips. The sizing guide 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 explains what the efficiency labels can and can’t tell you.
Next steps
For a quick budget, try the heat pump cost estimator. If you are deciding whether a conversion pays off, the conversion cost guide gives the installed price, and SMUD’s rebate is covered in the SMUD rebate guide. For a plan built around your own bills, call (916) 516-1454 or request an estimate.
