Bogalusa, LA: the heat pump payback math
A heat pump earns back its extra cost in Bogalusa 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). Bogalusa's residents would see roughly $270 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 3.7 years. That's a real payback, built from Bogalusa's own climate and utility rates, not a national guess.
The climate behind Bogalusa's payback figure
Degree days tell the story here: Bogalusa racks up 1473 heating degree days each year (base 65°F), and summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill, with 2877 cooling degree days on the cooling side. Sizing runs off the design temperature, not the average day: 26.6°F here (record low 15.6°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 2.99 for the standard class of unit this climate calls for. A standard ducted system is enough here; Bogalusa's design temperature doesn't justify the cold-climate premium. Source: NOAA station GEORGE R CARR MEMORIAL AIR FI, 2.9 miles from Bogalusa — the closest one on record.
The month-to-month numbers for Bogalusa
Electricity use for heating alone comes out to about 1,247 kWh a year on the 2000-square-foot reference house; folding in cooling puts the electric bill near $500 a year. Bogalusa's gas rate of 17.38 per Mcf, applied to the 15 Mcf a year the furnace burns, puts its running cost near $771 a year, against 13.52¢ per kWh for electricity. Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 40.7 years, for a 15-year net position $3,056 ahead.
Electric resistance heat in Bogalusa, compared
Not every home in Bogalusa has gas service. Compared with baseboard or electric-furnace resistance heat, the numbers shift in the heat pump’s favor. The saving here runs about $508 a year, which recovers the extra $5,500 spent going electric in roughly 10.8 years.
Where Bogalusa ranks in this dataset
Bogalusa lands at position 2700 out of 3206 cities on heating severity (coldest is 1), and 3114 out of 3206 by population size (biggest is 1). That's the mildest third of cities covered, where utility rates carry more of the answer than climate does.
Next step for 10,367 people in Bogalusa
About 10,367 people live in Bogalusa, Louisiana, 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.
Get quotes from local HVAC contractors before deciding.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide walks through exactly how Bogalusa's 2.99 seasonal COP and the rest of this page's numbers get built. See what Bogalusa's figure looks like without the $2,000 federal credit in the guide to how that credit moves the payback window.