Heating · March 5, 2026 · By Doug Kelley, Master Licensed HVAC Technician

Paying Too Much for Propane? Run These Numbers on a Heat Pump

Drive the back roads of Kent, Queen Anne's, or Caroline County and count the propane tanks. Beyond the natural gas mains, propane is the default fuel of the upper Shore, and every winter its bills spark the same kitchen-table conversation. Here is the comparison worth running, with honest math.

Why propane heat costs what it costs

Propane simply carries expensive heat. Each gallon delivers about 91,500 BTU, and even burned in a 95 percent efficient furnace, the cost per delivered unit of heat at typical Shore propane prices runs two to three times what a heat pump delivers using electricity at our local rates. That ratio holds because a heat pump does not create heat, it moves it: in our mild-winter climate a modern unit averages two and a half to three units of heat per unit of electricity across the season. An older 80 percent propane furnace widens the gap further.

What that means in a real house

A typical Shore home burning 800 to 1,200 gallons a winter is spending what the fuel market says, every year, forever. The same heat delivered by a cold-climate heat pump generally costs 40 to 60 percent less per season at current prices. Against the installed cost of a heat pump, replacement-cycle economics usually pay back in a handful of winters, and faster when the existing AC is due for replacement anyway, since a heat pump replaces that too.

The dual fuel path: keep the furnace, fire it less

You do not have to abandon propane to escape most of the bill. Dual fuel pairs a heat pump with your propane furnace: the heat pump carries the many 30 to 50 degree days cheaply, and the system automatically hands off to propane for the cold snaps where the furnace shines. The tank becomes a reserve instead of a lifeline, deliveries drop dramatically, and you keep furnace-grade heat for the coldest nights plus redundancy if either system ever falters. For homes with a healthy propane furnace and a dying AC, adding a heat pump instead of a plain AC is often the single best value decision available.

Honest caveats

• Electric rates and propane prices both move; the ratio has favored heat pumps consistently, but run current numbers
• Leaky, under-insulated farmhouses benefit from air sealing first; cheaper heat helps, needing less heat helps more
• Ductwork condition matters; starving a new heat pump through bad ducts wastes its advantage
• Backup heat configuration decides real-world bills; badly set electric strips can eat the savings

Bring us a recent propane bill and we will run your actual numbers, including the do-nothing option if that is honestly the answer: (443) 310-0206.