Should Biloxi switch to a heat pump?
A heat pump earns back its extra cost in Biloxi within a sensible timeframe. Against a like-for-like gas furnace and AC swap, going electric costs $1,000 more up front here (already netting out a $2,000 tax credit). That premium is recovered through $277 of lower running costs every year, landing the payback clock at roughly 3.6 years. That's a real payback, built from Biloxi's own climate and utility rates, not a national guess.
Why Biloxi's climate drives this number
Biloxi barely has a winter to speak of — 1081 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill, at 3323 cooling degree days. Sizing runs off the design temperature, not the average day: 29.3°F here (record low 19.4°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 3.07 for the standard class of unit this climate calls for. A standard ducted system is enough here; Biloxi's design temperature doesn't justify the cold-climate premium. Climate figures trace to the nearest NOAA station, KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, 1.3 miles from Biloxi.
What it actually costs to run, year to year
Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 892 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $576 a year. That compares with roughly 11 Mcf a year of gas at Biloxi's 16.64 per-Mcf rate — about $854 a year — against a local electricity rate of 15.47¢/kWh. Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 39.7 years, for a 15-year net position $3,160 ahead.
The other scenario: no gas furnace to begin with
Plenty of homes in Biloxi heat with electricity alone, no gas line involved. Swap the comparison to resistance heat instead of gas, and Biloxi's answer improves. About $513 a year comes back this way, enough that the 10.7-year payback clears the $5,500 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.
How Biloxi compares nationally
Among 3206 cities, Biloxi's winter puts it at rank 2860 for severity, while its size puts it at rank 854 for population — 1 in both cases being the extreme. That's the mildest third of cities covered, where utility rates carry more of the answer than climate does.
What to do with this number in Biloxi
About 48,144 people live in Biloxi, Mississippi, 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, it's worth getting quotes before your current system fails, not after.
Ask a local HVAC contractor for a quote before committing either way.
More on how this number was built
Every constant behind this page — the 3.07 seasonal COP, the degree-day corrections, the equipment costs — is documented in the methodology guide. See what Biloxi's figure looks like without the $2,000 federal credit in the guide to how that credit moves the payback window.