What the “Cost of Doing Nothing” Calculator Tells You
Most homeowners in Upstate New York and Vermont don’t know what their heating and cooling actually costs them each year — the fuel deliveries, the electric bill spikes, the aging furnace quietly burning money. This free calculator puts a real number on it. Enter your address, home details, current heating system, and fuel type, and it estimates your annual heating and cooling costs today, then compares them side-by-side against three Mitsubishi heat pump options:
- Single-zone 1:1 heat pump — one indoor unit paired with one outdoor unit, typically offsetting the hardest-working room in your home. The lowest-cost entry point into heat pump savings.
- 50% home system (hybrid) — a heat pump sized to carry roughly half your home’s load, displacing the majority of your fuel use while your existing furnace or boiler covers the coldest snaps.
- Whole-home Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat (H2i) — a cold-climate system sized to your full heating and cooling load, replacing fossil fuel entirely. H2i systems deliver full-rated heat well below 0°F, which is exactly why they work in Cambridge, Saratoga, Albany, and Bennington winters.
For each scenario you’ll see estimated annual cost, the electricity-versus-fuel breakdown, cost per MMBTU of delivered heat, and what “doing nothing” adds up to over five years as fuel and electric rates keep climbing.
Why Compare Cost per MMBTU?
Dollars per gallon of oil and dollars per kilowatt-hour of electricity aren’t comparable on their face. Cost per MMBTU — a million BTUs of heat actually delivered into your home — is the apples-to-apples number utilities and energy engineers use. Because a Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat pump moves heat instead of making it, it delivers roughly three units of heat for every unit of electricity it uses. That efficiency is why a heat pump can beat oil and propane on delivered-heat cost across most of Upstate NY and Vermont, even at today’s electric rates.
What “Doing Nothing” Actually Costs
Keeping an aging oil, propane, or gas system isn’t free — it’s a recurring decision. Every year you wait, you pay this year’s fuel bills, this year’s repairs on equipment past its prime, and next year’s higher prices. The calculator shows your cumulative five-year cost on your current path so you can weigh it against a fixed, financeable upgrade. For many homes we serve, the math turns out to be less “should I switch?” and more “how much is waiting costing me?”
Rebates Make the Numbers Better
New York homeowners can currently qualify for $6,000–$10,000 in NYS Clean Heat rebates on qualifying Mitsubishi heat pump installations — and Superior CO-OP HVAC handles the entire rebate application for you. Program rules and incentive tiers change (NYSERDA’s Weatherized Tier requirements shift on September 1, 2026), so the estimate you get today reflects the window that’s open right now. We also offer 18 months of 0% financing to qualified buyers, so the transition can cash-flow against the fuel bills you’re already paying.
How the Estimate Is Calculated
The calculator uses your fuel type and pricing typical for NYSEG-territory Upstate NY and Vermont, your home’s size and age, and your current system’s efficiency and age — including the electricity your existing furnace or boiler already uses to run blowers, pumps, and burners (a cost most homeowners never see itemized). Heat pump scenarios are modeled on cold-climate Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat performance ratings. It’s an estimate, not a quote: the real number comes from a free in-home load calculation by our team, where we measure your home instead of modeling it.
Who This Tool Is For
This calculator is built for homeowners in Upstate New York and southern Vermont who heat with fuel oil, propane, natural gas, electric baseboard, or an older heat pump and want a straight answer to three questions: What am I spending now? What would a heat pump cost to run instead? And what does waiting cost me? If your system is 10+ years old, if you dread the winter fuel delivery invoice, or if you’re adding air conditioning anyway — run your numbers. It takes about two minutes and the full report is emailed to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do heat pumps really work in Upstate New York winters?
Yes. Mitsubishi Hyper-Heat (H2i) systems are engineered for cold climates and deliver 100% of their rated heating capacity at 5°F, continuing to heat effectively well below –10°F. We’ve installed them for 20+ years across Washington, Saratoga, Rensselaer, and Bennington counties — some of the coldest inhabited terrain in the Northeast.
How much can I save by switching from oil or propane to a heat pump?
It depends on your fuel price, home, and system sizing, which is exactly what this calculator estimates. Homes heating with oil or propane typically see the largest savings because those are the most expensive fuels per unit of delivered heat. A whole-home Hyper-Heat system usually shows the biggest annual reduction; a 50% hybrid system displaces most fuel use at a lower installed cost.
Do I have to replace my furnace or boiler to get a heat pump?
No. A hybrid setup keeps your existing furnace or boiler as backup while a heat pump carries the bulk of the load, and a single-zone 1:1 system can target just one area of your home. The calculator models both alongside full replacement so you can compare all three paths.
Is the calculator estimate a quote?
No — it’s a modeled estimate based on the information you enter and regional energy prices. A firm quote requires a free in-home visit where we perform a proper load calculation and design the system for your actual house.
What rebates are available for heat pumps in New York right now?
NYS Clean Heat utility rebates currently range from $6,000 to $10,000 for qualifying installations in our service area, and Superior CO-OP HVAC files the paperwork for you. Incentive tiers are set by NYSERDA and your utility and do change — the calculator and your emailed report reflect current program rules.
Does running a heat pump raise my electric bill?
Yes — and the calculator shows you by exactly how much, alongside the fuel bill it eliminates. What matters is the total: for most oil and propane homes, the added electricity costs significantly less than the fuel it replaces. The report breaks out electricity versus fuel for every scenario so nothing is hidden.
