Heat Pump vs AC Cost Comparison Calculator

ANA›Life Services Authority›National Calculator Authority›Heat Pump vs AC Cost Comparison Calculator

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Heat Pump vs AC Cost Comparison Calculator

Compare the annual cooling (and heating) operating costs between a heat pump and a traditional central air conditioner based on your home size, usage hours, local electricity rate, and equipment efficiency ratings.

Cooling Load (BTU/hr)

Typical: 12,000 BTU per 500 sq ft. A 1,500 sq ft home ≈ 36,000 BTU/hr.

Annual Cooling Hours

Hours per year the system runs in cooling mode. Warm climates: 1,500–3,000 hrs; mild: 500–1,200 hrs.

Heating Load (BTU/hr) (Heat Pump only)

Set to 0 if comparing cooling-only. Heat pump can provide heating; traditional AC cannot.

Annual Heating Hours (Heat Pump only)

Hours per year the heat pump runs in heating mode. Set to 0 for cooling-only comparison.

Traditional AC SEER Rating

Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. Federal minimum is 14 SEER (South) / 13 SEER (North). Higher = more efficient.

Heat Pump SEER Rating (Cooling)

Modern heat pumps typically range 15–25 SEER. ENERGY STAR requires ≥ 15 SEER.

Heat Pump HSPF Rating (Heating)

Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. Federal minimum is 8.2 HSPF2 (≈ 10 HSPF). Higher = more efficient.

Electricity Rate ($/kWh)

U.S. average ≈ $0.13/kWh (2024). Check your utility bill for your exact rate.

Calculate

function heaCalc() { // --- Grab inputs --- const coolingLoad = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-cooling-load').value); const coolingHours = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-cooling-hours').value); const heatingLoad = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-heating-load').value); const heatingHours = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-heating-hours').value); const acSEER = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-ac-seer').value); const hpSEER = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-hp-seer').value); const hpHSPF = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-hp-hspf').value); const rate = parseFloat(document.getElementById('hea-electricity-rate').value); const resultDiv = document.getElementById('hea-result');

// --- Validation --- const errors = []; if (isNaN(coolingLoad) || coolingLoad 120000) errors.push("Cooling load must be between 5,000 and 120,000 BTU/hr."); if (isNaN(coolingHours) || coolingHours 4000) errors.push("Annual cooling hours must be between 100 and 4,000."); if (isNaN(heatingLoad) || heatingLoad 120000) errors.push("Heating load must be between 0 and 120,000 BTU/hr."); if (isNaN(heatingHours) || heatingHours 4000) errors.push("Annual heating hours must be between 0 and 4,000."); if (isNaN(acSEER) || acSEER 30) errors.push("AC SEER must be between 8 and 30."); if (isNaN(hpSEER) || hpSEER 40) errors.push("Heat pump SEER must be between 8 and 40."); if (isNaN(hpHSPF) || hpHSPF 15) errors.push("Heat pump HSPF must be between 6 and 15."); if (isNaN(rate) || rate 0.60) errors.push("Electricity rate must be between $0.05 and $0.60/kWh.");

if (errors.length > 0) { resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.innerHTML = 'Please fix the following:' + errors.map(e => '').join('') + ''; return; }

// ----------------------------------------------------------------------- // FORMULAS // // 1. Annual Cooling Energy (kWh) // kWh_cooling = (BTU_load × hours) / (SEER × 1000) // Derivation: SEER = total BTU output / total Wh input // Wh = BTU_total / SEER → kWh = BTU_total / (SEER × 1000) // // 2. Annual Heating Energy – Heat Pump (kWh) // kWh_heating_hp = (BTU_load × hours) / (HSPF × 1000) // Derivation: HSPF = total BTU output / total Wh input (heating season) // // 3. Annual Cost = kWh × electricity_rate // // 4. Traditional AC provides NO heating via the refrigerant cycle, // so heating cost for AC scenario is excluded (user would use a // separate furnace — not modeled here to keep comparison fair on // the cooling side, but heating savings are shown separately). // -----------------------------------------------------------------------

// --- AC Cooling Cost --- const acCoolingBTU = coolingLoad * coolingHours; // total BTU const acCoolingKWh = acCoolingBTU / (acSEER * 1000); // kWh const acCoolingCost = acCoolingKWh * rate; // $

// --- Heat Pump Cooling Cost --- const hpCoolingBTU = coolingLoad * coolingHours; const hpCoolingKWh = hpCoolingBTU / (hpSEER * 1000); const hpCoolingCost = hpCoolingKWh * rate;

// --- Heat Pump Heating Cost --- const hpHeatingBTU = heatingLoad * heatingHours; const hpHeatingKWh = hpHeatingBTU / (hpHSPF * 1000); const hpHeatingCost = hpHeatingKWh * rate;

// --- Totals --- const acTotalCost = acCoolingCost; // cooling only const hpTotalCost = hpCoolingCost + hpHeatingCost; // cooling + heating

// --- Savings --- const coolingSavings = acCoolingCost - hpCoolingCost; // positive = HP saves const hpVsAcTotal = acTotalCost - hpTotalCost; // includes heating benefit

// --- Efficiency ratios --- const seerImprovement = ((hpSEER - acSEER) / acSEER * 100).toFixed(1);

// --- Helpers --- const fmt = (n) => n.toLocaleString('en-US', {minimumFractionDigits:2, maximumFractionDigits:2}); const fmtI = (n) => Math.round(n).toLocaleString('en-US'); const sign = (n) => n >= 0 ? '+' : ''; const savClass = (n) => n >= 0 ? 'calc-positive' : 'calc-negative';

// --- Build result HTML --- let html = '### Cost Comparison Results ';

html += ''; html += 'CategoryTraditional ACHeat Pump'; html += '';

html += 'SEER (Cooling Efficiency)' + acSEER + '' + hpSEER + ' (+' + seerImprovement + '%)'; html += 'HSPF (Heating Efficiency)N/A' + hpHSPF + ''; html += 'Annual Cooling Energy (kWh)' + fmtI(acCoolingKWh) + '' + fmtI(hpCoolingKWh) + ''; html += 'Annual Heating Energy (kWh)—' + fmtI(hpHeatingKWh) + ''; html += 'Annual Cooling Cost$' + fmt(acCoolingCost) + '$' + fmt(hpCoolingCost) + ''; html += 'Annual Heating Cost—$' + fmt(hpHeatingCost) + ''; html += 'Total Annual Operating Cost$' + fmt(acTotalCost) + '$' + fmt(hpTotalCost) + ''; html += '';

html += ''; html += '#### Savings Summary '; html += 'Cooling-Only Savings with Heat Pump: ' + sign(coolingSavings) + '$' + fmt(Math.abs(coolingSavings)) + '/yr

';

if (heatingHours > 0) { html += 'Heat Pump Heating Cost vs. No Heating (AC scenario): $' + fmt(hpHeatingCost) + '/yr (AC provides no heating — compare to your current heating fuel cost)

'; }

html += 'Net Annual Difference (HP vs AC, cooling only): ' + sign(coolingSavings) + '$' + fmt(Math.abs(coolingSavings)) + '/yr

';

if (coolingSavings > 0) { html += '✔ The heat pump saves $' + fmt(coolingSavings) + '/year on cooling costs compared to the traditional AC.

'; } else if (coolingSavings ';

resultDiv.style.display = 'block'; resultDiv.innerHTML = html; }

#### Formulas Used

Annual Cooling Energy (kWh):

kWh_cooling = (Cooling Load [BTU/hr] × Annual Cooling Hours) / (SEER × 1,000) SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) is defined as total BTU of cooling output divided by total watt-hours of electrical input over a season. Dividing by 1,000 converts Wh → kWh.

Annual Heating Energy — Heat Pump (kWh):

kWh_heating = (Heating Load [BTU/hr] × Annual Heating Hours) / (HSPF × 1,000) HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) is the heating-season equivalent of SEER: total BTU of heat delivered divided by total watt-hours consumed.

Annual Operating Cost ($):

Cost = kWh × Electricity Rate ($/kWh)

Cooling Savings:

Savings = AC Cooling Cost − Heat Pump Cooling Cost

#### Assumptions & References

More Calculators

References

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)

Related Authorities

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