Is a heat pump worth it in Fair Oaks Ranch?

In Fair Oaks Ranch, 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). That premium is recovered through $337 of lower running costs every year, landing the payback clock at roughly 3 years. That verdict holds specifically for Fair Oaks Ranch's own climate and rates, not a national average.

Fair Oaks Ranch's weather, in the numbers that matter

Fair Oaks Ranch barely has a winter to speak of — 1016 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill, at 3775 cooling degree days. The 99% winter design temperature here — the cold snap equipment must be sized for, not the seasonal average — is 27°F, against a record low of 18°F. That puts the seasonal coefficient of performance at 3 for the recommended standard unit. Fair Oaks Ranch's winters don't get cold enough to need the cold-climate premium — a standard unit holds up fine. These numbers come from SAN ANTONIO INTERNATIONAL AIR, the closest NOAA station, 16.8 miles out.

What it actually costs to run, year to year

Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 858 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $658 a year. The gas furnace it replaces burns roughly 11 Mcf a year at 19.42 per Mcf here, for a running cost near $996 a year (electricity here runs 16.15¢/kWh). Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 32.6 years, for a 15-year net position $4,059 ahead.

If your home heats with electric baseboard instead of gas

Plenty of homes in Fair Oaks Ranch heat with electricity alone, no gas line involved. Against electric-resistance heat — baseboard or an electric furnace, both 100% efficient but still just resistance — the case for switching gets stronger here. The saving here runs about $547 a year, which recovers the extra $5,500 spent going electric in roughly 10 years.

How Fair Oaks Ranch compares nationally

Fair Oaks Ranch lands at position 2896 out of 3206 cities on heating severity (coldest is 1), and 2856 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 11,744 people in Fair Oaks Ranch

Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas is home to about 11,744 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, Fair Oaks Ranch is a place worth lining up quotes ahead of a breakdown, not waiting for one.

Line up a few local HVAC quotes before you decide.

Reading further on this page's numbers

The methodology guide walks through exactly how Fair Oaks Ranch's 3 seasonal COP and the rest of this page's numbers get built. The $2,000 federal credit baked into Fair Oaks Ranch's number is explained, with the before-and-after math, in the tax credit guide.