Henderson, NV: the heat pump payback math
A heat pump earns back its extra cost in Henderson 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). Henderson's residents would see roughly $294 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 3.4 years. The window here is reasonable, and it's specific to what Henderson actually pays for power and gas.
How cold Henderson actually gets
2199 heating degree days pile up here every year, so Henderson has a mild winter by US standards; the cooling side runs to 4069 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: 27°F here (record low 25°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 3 for the standard class of unit this climate calls for. Henderson's winters don't get cold enough to need the cold-climate premium — a standard unit holds up fine. Climate figures trace to the nearest NOAA station, HENDERSON EXECUTIVE ARPT, 6.4 miles from Henderson.
Henderson's running-cost comparison, in dollars
Electricity use for heating alone comes out to about 1,856 kWh a year on the 2000-square-foot reference house; folding in cooling puts the electric bill near $748 a year. The gas furnace it replaces burns roughly 23 Mcf a year at 13.14 per Mcf here, for a running cost near $1,041 a year (electricity here runs 14.04¢/kWh). Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 37.5 years, for a 15-year net position $3,404 ahead.
Electric resistance heat in Henderson, compared
Gas isn't universal in Henderson — many houses run on electric heat already. Compared with baseboard or electric-furnace resistance heat, the numbers shift in the heat pump’s favor. About $774 a year comes back this way, enough that the 7.1-year payback clears the $5,500 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.
Where Henderson ranks in this dataset
Ranked against the other 3206 cities covered, Henderson comes in at 2324 for heating severity — 1 would be the coldest place in the dataset — and 55 by population, where 1 is largest. 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 Henderson
Henderson, Nevada is home to about 350,039 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, Henderson is a place worth lining up quotes ahead of a breakdown, not waiting for one.
Ask a local HVAC contractor for a quote before committing either way.
Reading further on this page's numbers
Every constant behind this page — the 3 seasonal COP, the degree-day corrections, the equipment costs — is documented in the methodology guide. The $2,000 federal credit baked into Henderson's number is explained, with the before-and-after math, in the tax credit guide.