BC Hydro Time-of-Day Pricing With a Heat Pump
BC Hydro lets residential customers add optional time-of-day pricing to either the flat or tiered rate plan. For EV owners who charge overnight it's an easy win. For heat pump owners, it depends on when your heat pump works hardest, and on a cold BC evening that's often exactly when electricity costs the most.
How Time-of-Day Pricing Works
Time-of-day pricing sits on top of your regular plan (tiered or flat):
| Period | Hours | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight | 11 p.m. – 7 a.m. | −5¢/kWh |
| On-peak | 4 p.m. – 9 p.m. | +5¢/kWh |
| Off-peak | All other hours | No change |
For reference, the posted base rates (October 2026) are 11.87¢/kWh for Tier 1 and 14.08¢/kWh for Tier 2 on the tiered plan, or 12.70¢/kWh on the flat plan.
The Problem: Heat Pumps Peak When Prices Peak
On a winter day, a heat pump's load follows the weather and your routine:
- Evenings (4–9 p.m.): the sun is gone, temperatures drop, everyone's home, and people tend to turn the heat up. This is a heavy heating period, and it's the surcharge window.
- Overnight (11 p.m.–7 a.m.): the coldest hours of the day. Heat pumps run steadily, and that use earns the discount.
- Daytime: lighter load, especially on sunny days.
Whether you come out ahead comes down to one comparison:
Savings per year ≈ 5¢ × (overnight kWh − on-peak kWh)
If your home uses more electricity overnight than between 4 and 9 p.m., you save. If not, you pay more.
Worked Example
A heat pump that uses 6,600 kWh over a heating season:
| Use pattern | Overnight share | On-peak share | Net effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steady thermostat, night setpoint held | 40% (2,640 kWh) | 20% (1,320 kWh) | Save about $66 |
| Evening boost, cool nights | 25% (1,650 kWh) | 35% (2,310 kWh) | Pay about $33 more |
Heating alone rarely moves the needle by more than tens of dollars a year. The real savings come from shifting other big loads overnight. An EV charger, a heat pump water heater, the dishwasher and laundry can easily add up to several thousand kWh a year.
How to Make Time-of-Day Work With a Heat Pump
- Don't do big setbacks. Turning the heat way down overnight and back up in the morning makes many heat pumps call for electric backup heat to recover, which is the most expensive heat you can buy. Hold a steady temperature, or limit setbacks to 1–2°C.
- Pre-heat before 4 p.m. If your thermostat supports it, raise the setpoint by a degree in mid-afternoon and let it drift down slightly through the peak window. A well-insulated house coasts through a few hours easily.
- Avoid the evening boost. Turning the heat up at 5 p.m. when you get home lands squarely in the surcharge window. Schedule the warm-up for earlier.
- Schedule the water heater. A heat pump water heater, or an electric tank with a timer, can heat overnight and hold hot water through the evening.
- Charge the EV overnight. This is the single biggest lever for most households.
Technical detail: why setbacks backfire with heat pumps
A gas furnace recovers from a setback with the same efficiency it always has. A heat pump doesn't. To recover several degrees quickly, many thermostats and control boards bring on the electric resistance backup strips, which run at a COP of 1.0 compared with the heat pump's 2–3.
Modern "smart recovery" or heat-pump-aware thermostats start the recovery early and slowly using only the compressor. If your thermostat lacks this, a steady setpoint is usually cheaper than a setback, with or without time-of-day pricing.
Also check the thermostat's backup heat lockout: the outdoor temperature above which strips are prevented from running. Setting this sensibly, often near your heat pump's balance point, stops strips from running on mild evenings.
Who Should Try It
Good candidates:
- You charge an EV at home overnight.
- You can shift laundry, dishwasher, and water heating to overnight.
- Your thermostat holds a steady temperature or pre-heats before 4 p.m.
Probably not worth it:
- Apartments and condos without EV charging. BC Hydro itself generally doesn't recommend time-of-day pricing for them.
- Homes where the heat goes up every evening and nothing else can be shifted.
BC Hydro's online rate estimator compares your actual usage on each plan, so check it before switching.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I combine time-of-day pricing with the tiered rate?
Yes. Time-of-day pricing is an add-on to either the tiered or flat plan. The −5¢ and +5¢ adjustments apply on top of your base rate.
Will a heat pump cost more on time-of-day pricing?
It can, if most of its use falls between 4 and 9 p.m. Homes that hold a steady temperature tend to use more electricity overnight than during the peak window, which comes out slightly ahead.
Should I turn my heat pump off during peak hours?
Not completely. Letting the house cool a lot means a hard recovery afterwards, often on expensive backup heat. Pre-heating by a degree before 4 p.m. and letting the temperature drift slightly is a better approach.
Next Steps
- Heat pump vs gas furnace running costs in BC — the full cost comparison at current rates
- Backup heat for cold climates — when strips should and shouldn't run
- Heat pump defrost cycle explained — why your system behaves differently on cold, damp days
- HSPF2 and COP explained — efficiency numbers that drive your bill
Adding a heat pump, EV charger, or heat pump water heater? Check your panel can carry them together: