Heat pump vs. gas furnace in Coos Bay, OR
In Coos Bay, a heat pump pays for itself within a reasonable window. Swap a failed furnace and AC for a heat pump rather than buying like-for-like, and the extra cost here runs $1,000 after a $2,000 federal tax credit. Lower bills claw that back: about $228 saved annually, for a payback of roughly 4.4 years. The window here is reasonable, and it's specific to what Coos Bay actually pays for power and gas.
Coos Bay's weather, in the numbers that matter
Degree days tell the story here: Coos Bay racks up 4355 heating degree days each year (base 65°F), and summers rarely ask much of an air conditioner, with 8 cooling degree days on the cooling side. The 99% winter design temperature here — the cold snap equipment must be sized for, not the seasonal average — is 32°F, against a record low of 28.9°F. That puts the seasonal coefficient of performance at 3.15 for the recommended standard unit. Coos Bay's winters don't get cold enough to need the cold-climate premium — a standard unit holds up fine. These numbers come from NORTH BEND MUNICIPAL ARPT, the closest NOAA station, 2.3 miles out.
Coos Bay's running-cost comparison, in dollars
A 2000-square-foot house here would pull roughly 3,501 heating kilowatt-hours annually on top of cooling, totalling about $531 a year on electricity. That compares with roughly 45 Mcf a year of gas at Coos Bay's 16.71 per-Mcf rate — about $759 a year — against a local electricity rate of 15.14¢/kWh. Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 48.2 years, for a 15-year net position $2,426 ahead.
Electric resistance heat in Coos Bay, compared
Plenty of homes in Coos Bay heat with electricity alone, no gas line involved. Compared with baseboard or electric-furnace resistance heat, the numbers shift in the heat pump’s favor. About $1,140 a year comes back this way, enough that the 4.8-year payback clears the $5,500 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.
Coos Bay against the rest of the country
Among 3206 cities, Coos Bay's winter puts it at rank 1280 for severity, while its size puts it at rank 2317 for population — 1 in both cases being the extreme. That's the middle third for winter severity among the cities covered here.
Next step for 15,801 people in Coos Bay
Coos Bay, Oregon is home to about 15,801 people, and the figures above are the same ones a local HVAC contractor uses to size and quote a system — this site doesn't guess where a real quote would land, it just tells you whether it's worth asking for one. Given the math above, Coos Bay is a place worth lining up quotes ahead of a breakdown, not waiting for one.
Get quotes from local HVAC contractors before deciding.
More on how this number was built
The methodology guide walks through exactly how Coos Bay's 3.15 seasonal COP and the rest of this page's numbers get built. The $2,000 federal credit baked into Coos Bay's number is explained, with the before-and-after math, in the tax credit guide.