Is a heat pump worth it in Houma?
In Houma, a heat pump pays for itself within a reasonable window. $1,000 is what Houma would pay extra to go electric rather than replace the furnace and AC with the same again, once the $2,000 federal credit is applied. Houma's residents would see roughly $267 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 3.7 years. That's a real payback, built from Houma's own climate and utility rates, not a national guess.
The climate behind Houma's payback figure
Houma barely has a winter to speak of — 981 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill, at 3273 cooling degree days. 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 21.2°F. That puts the seasonal coefficient of performance at 3.15 for the recommended standard unit. A standard ducted system is enough here; Houma's design temperature doesn't justify the cold-climate premium. These numbers come from HOUMA-TERREBONNE AIRPORT, the closest NOAA station, 3 miles out.
What it actually costs to run, year to year
Electricity use for heating alone comes out to about 789 kWh a year on the 2000-square-foot reference house; folding in cooling puts the electric bill near $484 a year. That compares with roughly 10 Mcf a year of gas at Houma's 17.38 per-Mcf rate — about $751 a year — against a local electricity rate of 13.52¢/kWh. Looked at as a full purchase rather than an incremental one, payback here is roughly 41.2 years, leaving the 15-year total $3,007 ahead.
The other scenario: no gas furnace to begin with
Not every home in Houma has gas service. Against electric-resistance heat — baseboard or an electric furnace, both 100% efficient but still just resistance — the case for switching gets stronger here. About $425 a year comes back this way, enough that the 12.9-year payback clears the $5,500 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.
How Houma compares nationally
Houma lands at position 2912 out of 3206 cities on heating severity (coldest is 1), and 1292 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 Houma, LA
About 31,671 people live in Houma, 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.
Ask a local HVAC contractor for a quote before committing either way.
Where Houma's figure comes from
Every constant behind this page — the 3.15 seasonal COP, the degree-day corrections, the equipment costs — is documented in the methodology guide. See what Houma's figure looks like without the $2,000 federal credit in the guide to how that credit moves the payback window.