Heat pump vs. gas furnace in Auburn, WA
In Auburn, the math is close enough that it comes down to how long you plan to stay. $3,500 is what Auburn would pay extra to go electric rather than replace the furnace and AC with the same again, once the $2,000 federal credit is applied. Auburn's residents would see roughly $252 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 13.9 years. Whether that's worth it in Auburn depends on how many years you expect to own the place.
Why Auburn's climate drives this number
Auburn has a real but manageable winter — 3501 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers rarely ask much of an air conditioner, at 58 cooling degree days. The 99% winter design temperature here — the cold snap equipment must be sized for, not the seasonal average — is 21.2°F, against a record low of 16.7°F. That puts the seasonal coefficient of performance at 3.21 for the recommended cold-climate unit. Below the 25°F line where a standard machine starts leaning on resistance backup, Auburn sits firmly in cold-climate territory, so that's the class of unit priced here. Climate figures trace to the nearest NOAA station, TACOMA MET, 9.9 miles from Auburn.
What it actually costs to run, year to year
Electricity use for heating alone comes out to about 2,762 kWh a year on the 2000-square-foot reference house; folding in cooling puts the electric bill near $401 a year. The gas furnace it replaces burns roughly 36 Mcf a year at 17.62 per Mcf here, for a running cost near $653 a year (electricity here runs 14.27¢/kWh). Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 53.6 years, for a 15-year net position $280 ahead.
Electric resistance heat in Auburn, compared
Not every home in Auburn has gas service. Compared with baseboard or electric-furnace resistance heat, the numbers shift in the heat pump’s favor. About $875 a year comes back this way, enough that the 9.1-year payback clears the $8,000 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.
Auburn against the rest of the country
Among 3206 cities, Auburn's winter puts it at rank 1771 for severity, while its size puts it at rank 426 for population — 1 in both cases being the extreme. That's the middle third for winter severity among the cities covered here.
What to do with this number in Auburn
About 85,513 people live in Auburn, Washington, and every number on this page is what a contractor would actually work from when quoting a system here — the point isn't to replace that quote, it's to tell you whether to bother asking for one. Here, there's no cost penalty to waiting until your current furnace or AC actually needs replacing.
Line up a few local HVAC quotes before you decide.
Where Auburn's figure comes from
Nothing above is a black box: the methodology guide shows the full arithmetic behind Auburn's 3.21 seasonal COP and payback figure. Auburn's 21.2°F design temperature is below the 25°F line, which is why a cold-climate unit is the right call here — see what that changes in the cold-climate unit guide.