Is a heat pump worth it in Woodward?

In Woodward, the extra upfront cost technically comes back, just not before the equipment wears out. $3,500 is what Woodward 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. Woodward's residents would see roughly $195 a year back in running costs, putting the payback around 18 years. Woodward's own numbers say this pencils out only in theory, not in practice.

The climate behind Woodward's payback figure

Woodward has a real but manageable winter — 3564 heating degree days a year against a 65°F base — and summers are hot enough that cooling matters as much as heating, at 1738 cooling degree days. Sizing runs off the design temperature, not the average day: 3.2°F here (record low -4°F), which works out to a seasonal COP of 2.78 for the cold-climate class of unit this climate calls for. Below the 25°F line where a standard machine starts leaning on resistance backup, Woodward sits firmly in cold-climate territory, so that's the class of unit priced here. Climate figures trace to the nearest NOAA station, WEST WOODWARD AIRPORT, 6.5 miles from Woodward.

What it actually costs to run, year to year

Modelled on a typical 2000-square-foot house, the heat pump draws about 3,246 kWh a year to keep it warm, plus cooling, for a combined electric bill near $619 a year. That compares with roughly 37 Mcf a year of gas at Woodward's 13.99 per-Mcf rate — about $814 a year — against a local electricity rate of 13.10¢/kWh. Looked at as a full purchase rather than an incremental one, payback here is roughly 69.2 years, leaving the 15-year total $575 behind.

If your home heats with electric baseboard instead of gas

Plenty of homes in Woodward 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. About $858 a year comes back this way, enough that the 9.3-year payback clears the $8,000 premium comfortably within the equipment's life.

Woodward against the rest of the country

Among 3206 cities, Woodward's winter puts it at rank 1752 for severity, while its size puts it at rank 2853 for population — 1 in both cases being the extreme. That's the middle third for winter severity among the cities covered here.

Next step for 11,750 people in Woodward

About 11,750 people live in Woodward, Oklahoma, 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, there's no cost penalty to waiting until your current furnace or AC actually needs replacing.

Line up a few local HVAC quotes before you decide.

Reading further on this page's numbers

Every constant behind this page — the 2.78 seasonal COP, the degree-day corrections, the equipment costs — is documented in the methodology guide. Woodward's 3.2°F design temperature falls on the cold side of the 25°F cutoff the cold-climate unit guide walks through.