[vlpowell]

I am buying a house with electric heat. I have heard it can be a lot more expensive than gas. What would be the cost of converting the house to gas heating and a/c?

[bolt in blue]

What type of electric heating does the house have? Electric baseboards? Forced air heat pump? Forced air electric? All of those are technically electric heat, although a heat pump should be listed as a heat pump.

If natural gas is available (or you don't mind using propane) and you already have a forced air system (including a currently air conditioning only forced air system), it will be a simple matter of getting the gas to the furnace and replacing the furnace/air handler. If you currently have only electric baseboards and no central a/c, it will be a very expensive job and may be impossible without major renovations, as you will need to add air ducts to your house.

The short is that if you have a forced air system (if you have central a/c, you definitely do), it will be relatively easy. If you don't have a forced air system, it will be expensive to put one in and may not be possible to do for a reasonable cost.

While you're at it, I'd look at heat pumps if you have a forced air system. They're still electric, so no extra bills to pay, but can cost 1/3 what it does to use standard electric heat. I have natural gas, but plan to switch to a heat pump when my a/c goes because that will actually be cheaper for me to run in Virginia.

[vlpowell]

Thank you very much, I appreciate the feedback.