The short answer
A heat pump runs entirely on electricity. It doesn’t burn gas, propane, or any other fuel to produce heat. That’s the core difference between a heat pump and a gas furnace, and it’s the reason heat pumps come up so often in conversations about all-electric homes and moving away from natural gas entirely.
How it heats without burning anything
A gas furnace makes heat by combustion, burning fuel to create hot air that gets pushed through ductwork. A heat pump does something fundamentally different: it moves existing heat from one place to another using a refrigerant cycle and a compressor, the same basic mechanism as a refrigerator, just running in reverse. In cooling mode, it pulls heat out of your house and dumps it outside. In heating mode, it reverses that flow and pulls heat out of the outdoor air, even when that air feels cold, and moves it inside.
Because it’s relocating heat rather than generating it through combustion, a heat pump can produce more heat energy than the electrical energy it consumes, often two to four times more. That’s what “high efficiency” means for a heat pump specifically, and it’s mechanically impossible for a combustion appliance to do the same thing.
Why this question comes up so often
A lot of homeowners researching heat pumps are really asking a bigger question: can I get rid of gas at my house entirely? A heat pump for space heating and cooling answers part of that. The other major gas appliance in most homes is the water heater, and that has a fully electric answer too, a heat pump water heater, which works on the same heat-moving principle rather than a resistance element or a gas burner.
Between a heat pump for heating and cooling and a heat pump water heater, a home can realistically go all-electric for its two largest gas loads, space conditioning and hot water. Cooking and, in some homes, a gas fireplace or dryer are the remaining pieces of that puzzle, and those are separate decisions.
What this means for your utility bill
Going all-electric means your SDG&E electric bill goes up and your gas bill goes down or disappears, rather than paying two separate utility charges. Whether that’s a net savings depends on your specific usage, current rate plan, and how efficient the equipment is. It’s not automatically cheaper, but it does simplify the bill to one utility and removes gas appliance maintenance and gas line concerns from the home entirely.
The one setup where gas sticks around: hybrid dual-fuel systems
Not every home fits a pure electric answer, and that’s where a hybrid, or dual-fuel, system comes in. A dual-fuel setup pairs a heat pump with an existing gas furnace, letting the heat pump handle the bulk of heating and cooling in its efficient range while the gas furnace kicks in only during the rare, genuinely cold stretch where combustion heat wins out. This is a middle path for homeowners who like the idea of a heat pump’s efficiency but aren’t ready to remove gas from the house entirely, or who have a newer high-efficiency furnace that still has years of useful life left. It’s worth understanding as a distinct option rather than an either-or choice between all-gas and all-electric.
For San Diego specifically, dual-fuel setups are less common than in colder markets simply because the gas backup rarely gets called into service. Most homeowners here who install a heat pump either replace the furnace outright or keep it as a genuinely rare backup rather than a working part of the seasonal routine.
Does San Diego’s mild climate matter here
Yes, and favorably. Heat pumps lose some heating efficiency as outdoor air gets very cold, because there’s less ambient heat to extract. San Diego rarely sees temperatures low enough to meaningfully strain a properly sized heat pump, which is part of why heat pumps have become the default recommendation here rather than a furnace, even before considering the gas-versus-electric question at all.
What about the stove and the dryer
Space conditioning and water heating are the two biggest gas loads in most homes, but they’re not the only ones. A gas range, a gas dryer, and in some homes a gas fireplace are separate appliances with their own electric alternatives, induction ranges, heat pump or electric-resistance dryers, and electric fireplaces, but those are independent purchase decisions with their own cost and performance tradeoffs. Going all-electric on heating, cooling, and hot water doesn’t require also swapping the stove in the same project. Plenty of San Diego homes run a heat pump and a heat pump water heater while keeping a gas range, and that’s a perfectly reasonable place to stop.
Do heat pumps need a gas line at all?
No. A heat pump system needs only electrical service, no gas connection of any kind. If you’re replacing a gas furnace with a heat pump, the old gas line to that unit can be capped off by a licensed plumber.
Is an all-electric home more expensive to run than a gas home?
It depends on your rate plan, usage patterns, and equipment efficiency. It’s not automatically more expensive, and high-efficiency heat pump equipment often narrows or closes any gap compared to a gas furnace plus a separate air conditioner.
Can I switch from gas heat to a heat pump without rewiring my whole house?
In most cases, yes. The main electrical requirement is a dedicated circuit sized for the heat pump’s compressor, which an electrician can typically add without a full panel replacement unless your home is on very old or undersized electrical service.
To find out what an all-electric heat pump setup would look like for your specific home, see our heat pump replacement page or call (858) 400-4374.
Heat Pro SD connects San Diego homeowners with experienced, insured C-20 crews for heat pump installation and replacement. Call (858) 400-4374 for a free quote.