Heating & Cooling Cost (Atlanta)

Does it cost more to heat your home or cool your home?  There are a lot of variables to consider, but in general you will pay more to heat your home than cool it.

Here are a few examples assuming a 15 year old home with 2,500 square feet.

1)     15 year old heating and air system.  Gas heat is 80% efficient; air conditioner seer rating is 8.  This would be a typical home.

Heating Cost: 1,081.00

Cooling Cost:  881.00

Total Cost:  1,962.00

As you can see in this example, it cost more to heat your home than to cool it.

2)     This example uses the same home, but uses a duel fuel system to heat and cool the home.  A duel fuel system is a heat pump and a gas furnace.  The heat pump provides your heating as long as the outside temperature is above 38 degrees, when the outside temperature falls below 38 degrees the gas furnace provides your heating.  The heat pump is also your air conditioner in the summer.  This system is a 14.5 seer and an 8.1 hspf.

Heating Cost:  761.00

Cooling Cost:  501.00

Total Cost:  1,263.00

As you can see in this example, it cost more to heat your home than to cool it.  This system is more efficient than the previous system and would save you 699.00 per year in operating cost.

3)     This example uses the same home, but has a 97% efficient gas furnace and a 16 seer air conditioner.

Heating Cost:  873.00

Cooling Cost:  453.00

Total Cost:  1,326.00

Again, the heating cost is higher.

     In all of the above examples I am assuming a home with a 48,000 BTU heat gain, and a 55,000 btu heat loss.  All homes are different but this is a fairly typical home.