Heat pump vs. gas furnace in Redding, CA
Redding clears a genuine payback here, inside a reasonable stretch of years. $1,000 is what Redding 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. Lower bills claw that back: about $303 saved annually, for a payback of roughly 3.3 years. That's a real payback, built from Redding's own climate and utility rates, not a national guess.
The climate behind Redding's payback figure
Redding has a mild winter by US standards — 2301 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers are severe enough that cooling can dominate the annual bill, at 2713 cooling degree days. Sizing runs off the design temperature, not the average day: 30°F here (record low 28.9°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 3.09 for the standard class of unit this climate calls for. A standard ducted system is enough here; Redding's design temperature doesn't justify the cold-climate premium. These numbers come from REDDING MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, the closest NOAA station, 5.1 miles out.
What it actually costs to run, year to year
Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 1,886 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $1,378 a year. The gas furnace it replaces burns roughly 24 Mcf a year at 22.01 per Mcf here, for a running cost near $1,682 a year (electricity here runs 32.83¢/kWh). Looked at as a full purchase rather than an incremental one, payback here is roughly 36.3 years, leaving the 15-year total $3,550 ahead.
Electric resistance heat in Redding, compared
Gas isn't universal in Redding — many houses run on electric heat already. Compared with baseboard or electric-furnace resistance heat, the numbers shift in the heat pump’s favor. Switching saves about $1,689 a year here — a heat pump moving heat rather than generating it needs far less electricity than resistance coils — so the extra $5,500 spent up front comes back in about 3.3 years.
Redding against the rest of the country
Among 3206 cities, Redding's winter puts it at rank 2272 for severity, while its size puts it at rank 371 for population — 1 in both cases being the extreme. 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 Redding
About 93,502 people live in Redding, California, 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.
Get quotes from local HVAC contractors before deciding.
Reading further on this page's numbers
The methodology guide walks through exactly how Redding's 3.09 seasonal COP and the rest of this page's numbers get built. See what Redding's figure looks like without the $2,000 federal credit in the guide to how that credit moves the payback window.