Bargersville, IN: the heat pump payback math
In Bargersville, a heat pump would cost more to run each year than what you have now. Swap a failed furnace and AC for a heat pump rather than buying like-for-like, and the extra cost here runs $3,500 after a $2,000 federal tax credit. Running costs here land $80 a year HIGHER than the furnace it replaces, so that premium is never recovered. There's no spin on that: Bargersville's numbers say wait.
Why Bargersville's climate drives this number
Degree days tell the story here: Bargersville racks up 4285 heating degree days each year (base 65°F), and summers are hot enough that cooling matters as much as heating, with 1278 cooling degree days on the cooling side. Sizing runs off the design temperature, not the average day: -0.9°F here (record low -6°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 2.68 for the cold-climate class of unit this climate calls for. Below the 25°F line where a standard machine starts leaning on resistance backup, Bargersville sits firmly in cold-climate territory, so that's the class of unit priced here. These numbers come from INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL AI, the closest NOAA station, 13.3 miles out.
Bargersville's running-cost comparison, in dollars
Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 4,049 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $875 a year. The gas furnace it replaces burns roughly 45 Mcf a year at 11.49 per Mcf here, for a running cost near $795 a year (electricity here runs 17.03¢/kWh). Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs past the 15-year equipment life, for a 15-year net position $4,703 behind.
If your home heats with electric baseboard instead of gas
Gas isn't universal in Bargersville — many houses run on electric heat already. Against electric-resistance heat — baseboard or an electric furnace, both 100% efficient but still just resistance — the case for switching gets stronger here. The saving here runs about $1,255 a year, which recovers the extra $8,000 spent going electric in roughly 6.4 years.
Bargersville against the rest of the country
Bargersville lands at position 1349 out of 3206 cities on heating severity (coldest is 1), and 2929 out of 3206 by population size (biggest is 1). That's the middle third for winter severity among the cities covered here.
Next step for 11,283 people in Bargersville
About 11,283 people live in Bargersville, Indiana, 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.
Reading further on this page's numbers
Nothing above is a black box: the methodology guide shows the full arithmetic behind Bargersville's 2.68 seasonal COP and payback figure. At a -0.9°F design temperature, Bargersville sits in cold-climate territory; the guide to that class of unit explains why.