Should Pascagoula switch to a heat pump?

A heat pump earns back its extra cost in Pascagoula within a sensible timeframe. 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. Pascagoula's residents would see roughly $277 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 3.6 years. The window here is reasonable, and it's specific to what Pascagoula actually pays for power and gas.

Pascagoula's weather, in the numbers that matter

Pascagoula barely has a winter to speak of — 1277 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill, at 3250 cooling degree days. 27°F is the figure equipment gets sized against here — the 99th-percentile cold snap, not an average day — with a record low of 19.9°F on file. Worked through the model, that's a seasonal COP of 3 on the standard unit fit for this climate. Pascagoula's winters don't get cold enough to need the cold-climate premium — a standard unit holds up fine. Source: NOAA station TRENT LOTT INTL AIRPORT, 7.3 miles from Pascagoula — the closest one on record.

What it actually costs to run, year to year

Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 1,078 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $595 a year. Pascagoula's gas rate of 16.64 per Mcf, applied to the 13 Mcf a year the furnace burns, puts its running cost near $873 a year, against 15.47¢ per kWh for electricity. Priced as a standalone purchase rather than against a like-for-like replacement, equipment payback runs about 39.6 years, for a 15-year net position $3,162 ahead.

Electric resistance heat in Pascagoula, compared

Plenty of homes in Pascagoula heat with electricity alone, no gas line involved. Swap the comparison to resistance heat instead of gas, and Pascagoula's answer improves. The saving here runs about $556 a year, which recovers the extra $5,500 spent going electric in roughly 9.9 years.

How Pascagoula compares nationally

Pascagoula lands at position 2764 out of 3206 cities on heating severity (coldest is 1), and 1813 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 Pascagoula, MS

Pascagoula, Mississippi is home to about 21,476 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, Pascagoula 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 Pascagoula's 3 seasonal COP and the rest of this page's numbers get built. The $2,000 federal credit baked into Pascagoula's number is explained, with the before-and-after math, in the tax credit guide.