Heat pump vs. gas furnace in Cocoa, FL
In Cocoa, a heat pump is the cheaper choice, and not by a little. 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). Cocoa's residents would see roughly $376 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 2.7 years. Nothing about that conclusion is generic — it's built entirely from Cocoa's own numbers.
Why Cocoa's climate drives this number
126 heating degree days pile up here every year, so Cocoa barely has a winter to speak of; the cooling side runs to 5204 cooling degree days, where summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill. Sizing runs off the design temperature, not the average day: 44.6°F here (record low 39.2°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 3.53 for the standard class of unit this climate calls for. A standard ducted system is enough here; Cocoa's design temperature doesn't justify the cold-climate premium. Climate figures trace to the nearest NOAA station, SPACE COAST REGIONAL AIRPORT, 10 miles from Cocoa.
Cocoa's running-cost comparison, in dollars
Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 90 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $699 a year. Cocoa's gas rate of 25.48 per Mcf, applied to the 1 Mcf a year the furnace burns, puts its running cost near $1,074 a year, against 15.43¢ per kWh for electricity. Looked at as a full purchase rather than an incremental one, payback here is roughly 29.3 years, leaving the 15-year total $4,633 ahead.
The other scenario: no gas furnace to begin with
Gas isn't universal in Cocoa — many houses run on electric heat already. Swap the comparison to resistance heat instead of gas, and Cocoa's answer improves. About $391 a year comes back this way, enough that the 14.1-year payback clears the $5,500 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.
Cocoa against the rest of the country
Cocoa lands at position 3140 out of 3206 cities on heating severity (coldest is 1), and 1933 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.
Deciding what's next in Cocoa, FL
About 19,909 people live in Cocoa, Florida, 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.
Where Cocoa's figure comes from
The methodology guide walks through exactly how Cocoa's 3.53 seasonal COP and the rest of this page's numbers get built. See what Cocoa's figure looks like without the $2,000 federal credit in the guide to how that credit moves the payback window.