I went to the Ontario Hydro calculator to look at switching from oil heating to electric (natural gas not available here). This calculator says that I can save about $400 per year by switching. I have much doubt about this. Has anyone actually done this switch? Do you believe this?
Edit: some more info I should have provided:
First of all, I believe this would be for a forced air electric furnace. This should easily swap in for my oil furnace, I would just have to add a 220 line.
I live in central Ontario. I don't have or need/want air conditioning, so there is nothing to save there.
I am not sure about a heat pump for my case, since it would not be used in the summer and they become less efficient as it gets colder. I am not sure I can rely on a heat pump as my only heating source.
Modern heat pumps work down to -30C, at which point the furnace supplements with electric heat which is built into the unit.
My electricity costs dropped 50% over my builder-grade piece-of-shit electric furnace & AC unit -- and I even increased from a 2 ton to a 2.5 ton system. The initial cost was about $12k, and it will take 8 to 10 years to break even, less if the cost electricity keeps increasing the way it has over the last 10 years.
Also, you may not want A/C now, but you will shortly -- heat waves are getting more severe each year.