I am a Canadian hvac journeyman now living in Concord, California and by far the most efficient way to heat your house is by a heat pump. Gas is a frickin rip off here regardless if it is peek time or not. The cost per therm is about 30% less if using electricity. You should check out the Mitsubishi city multi unit that can run heat and cooling simutaniously and without ductwork which also robs efficiency. Being from California you know well that it can get cool at night and in the mornings but by 1:00pm it can be 20 degress F higher. I went to a training class in Chicago for installing this product and it was running a 8ton heat pump with four afan coils two in heating mode and two in cooling mode and was drawing only 9amps! It is more expensive than a typical heat pump but the payback is only 20months in California-I feel your pain with the PG&E bills!
