Winter Heating Cost Estimator
This is an estimate based on national average rates and your own usage input — actual bills vary by region, local utility rates, weather, and home efficiency.
Estimate your seasonal heating bill by fuel type — natural gas, electricity, propane or heating oil — using the forecast November-March average prices from the EIA Winter Fuels Outlook 2026-27 (published October 6, 2026) and your own usage.
How it works
- Choose your heating fuel type
- Set your typical monthly usage (therms, kWh or gallons depending on fuel)
- Adjust the heating season length and see your estimated seasonal cost
Frequently asked questions
Is this based on the official EIA 2026-27 Winter Fuels Outlook?
Yes. Since October 12, 2026 the estimator uses the forecast November-March average residential prices from the EIA Winter Fuels Outlook 2026-27, published October 6, 2026. EIA updates these forecasts with each Short-Term Energy Outlook; the next release is November 10, 2026.
What prices does this use?
Natural gas at about $1.30/therm (converted from EIA's forecast $13.44 per thousand cubic feet), electricity at 18.23 cents/kWh, propane at $2.52/gallon and heating oil at $5.26/gallon. All four are EIA's forecast U.S. average residential prices for November 2026 through March 2027.
Why does the result differ from my actual bill?
This uses national average prices, not your specific utility's rate, and doesn't account for your region's weather, your home's insulation and efficiency, or delivery/base charges some utilities add. Treat it as a ballpark estimate, not a bill prediction.
How do I know my typical monthly usage?
Check a past winter utility bill for your therms, kWh, or gallons used, or start with the slider's default value as a rough national-average starting point and adjust from there.
Which fuel is cheapest this winter?
It depends heavily on your region and home setup, not just the raw per-unit price — electricity has a much higher per-unit price than gas but a furnace or heat pump's efficiency changes how many units you actually need. Compare your own usage across fuels here rather than relying on price-per-unit alone.
Related tools
From the blog
Update history
- 2026-10-12 Updated all four fuel prices to the EIA Winter Fuels Outlook 2026-27 forecast (published Oct 6, 2026): natural gas $13.44/Mcf, electricity 18.23¢/kWh, propane $2.52/gal, heating oil $5.26/gal.
- 2026-10-03 Re-checked: the EIA 2026-27 Winter Fuels Outlook is still unpublished (expected about Oct 6), so rates are unchanged; updated the notice to say so.
- 2026-09-24 Launched: winter heating cost estimator using current EIA retail prices for natural gas, electricity, propane and heating oil, with a clear notice that the 2026-27 official EIA seasonal outlook is not yet published.