Terms of use
Use the figures freely, check them against your own quotes, and do not treat them as a promise about what your next delivery will cost.
Last updated .
What this site is
CostToHeat is an informational tool that compares the running cost of residential heating fuels using price data published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It is not professional advice — not engineering, financial, legal or energy-efficiency advice — and no relationship of any kind is created by using it.
Accuracy, and its limits
Considerable care goes into making these figures correct: every constant is sourced, the arithmetic is covered by automated tests, and the price pipeline refuses to publish an incomplete update. Even so, the figures are estimates. Published prices are area averages that differ from individual quotes; heat content varies by delivery, and for cordwood varies enormously by species and seasoning; equipment efficiency degrades with age and maintenance; and heat pump performance depends on the weather during the winter you actually experience.
Comparisons exclude equipment, installation, maintenance, tank rental, delivery minimums and the labour of operating a stove. For most households weighing a switch, those costs decide the question. Get written quotes before spending money.
No warranty
This site is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any warranty of accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose or uninterrupted availability. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the operator is not liable for any loss arising from reliance on these figures, including decisions to change heating system, switch fuel or sign a supply contract.
Using these figures elsewhere
The underlying price data is published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration and is in the public domain. You are welcome to cite figures from this site, and journalists and state energy offices are actively encouraged to. Please attribute the underlying EIA series and, if it is useful to your readers, link to the relevant page here so they can see the current number rather than a snapshot.
The site's own text, layout, code and presentation remain the operator's. Wholesale copying of pages, or automated scraping that degrades the service for others, is not permitted.
Availability
The site is provided free and may be changed, paused or withdrawn at any time. Pages may be added or removed as data coverage changes.
Governing law and contact
These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and of the operator's state of residence, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Questions can be sent through the contact page.