Heat Pump Payback in Biloxi, MS
Should Biloxi switch to a heat pump?
This one's marginal in Biloxi: it only clears if you stay long enough. Against a like-for-like gas furnace and AC swap, going electric costs $3,000 more up front here. That premium is recovered through $277 of lower running costs every year, landing the payback clock at roughly 10.8 years. Whether that's worth it in Biloxi depends on how many years you expect to own the place.
Compare against another city
Landed on Biloxi by mistake, or want to compare it against somewhere else? Search the other 3206 cities below.
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 (coldest 2024 reading 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 with the old AC included, against a local electricity rate of 15.47¢/kWh. Priced as a standalone purchase, with a working furnace ripped out early, payback would take longer than the 15-year equipment life. Measured against the like-for-like replacement instead, a household here ends 15 years $1,160 ahead.
What would change Biloxi's answer
Because the heat pump's better air conditioning saves more electricity than its heating uses, it stays cheaper to run than the current furnace and AC in Biloxi at any electricity price. When quotes arrive, compare the heat pump price with a like-for-like furnace and AC replacement: at $277 a year saved, a difference under $1,939 pays back within 7 years here, and under $2,770 within 10.
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 14.6-year payback clears the $7,500 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, there's no cost penalty to waiting until your current furnace or AC actually needs replacing.
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. Not every home in Biloxi has gas; the guide comparing a heat pump against electric baseboard covers that case separately.