In Florida the question comes up on nearly every replacement: the heat pump costs more, and it barely gets cold here, so why pay for it? The honest answer depends on where in Florida the house is, and it is worth ten minutes before you order.
What a heat pump actually is
A heat pump is an air conditioner with a reversing valve. In summer it works exactly like a straight AC, and at the same SEER2 the two cool the house identically. In winter it runs backwards, pulling heat out of the outdoor air and moving it inside. That moving is the point: for every unit of electricity it uses it delivers roughly three units of heat in Florida's mild winters.
A straight air conditioner has no way to heat. The heat in an AC system comes from an electric heat kit in the air handler — resistance strips, like a toaster — which delivers exactly one unit of heat for every unit of electricity.
Both systems use the same air handler and both take a heat kit. With a straight AC the strips are the only heat. With a heat pump they are backup, for the coldest mornings and the defrost cycle. So the heat kit is not the saving; the running cost is.
What the winter costs, roughly
A 10 kW heat kit draws 10 kilowatts whenever it runs. At 15 cents per kWh that is $1.50 an hour. A heat pump delivering the same heat in mild weather draws about a third of that, call it 50 cents an hour.
South Florida — Fort Myers, Naples, Miami, the Keys — heats for something like 150 to 300 hours a year. Take 200: strips cost around $300 a winter, a heat pump around $100. About $200 a year in favour of the heat pump.
North Florida — Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Pensacola — heats for more like 600 to 900 hours. Take 600: strips around $900, a heat pump around $300. About $600 a year.
Central Florida sits between the two. These are illustrations, not quotes; your rate and your thermostat habits move them. But the shape holds: the further north the house, the faster the heat pump pays back.
What the heat pump premium is, by brand
Comparing the heat pump condenser with its air conditioner twin at the same tonnage and SEER2, at today's prices on this site:
Everwell CAC-15 — the heat pump costs about $70 to $150 more than the air conditioner. At that premium the heat pump pays for itself in the first winter anywhere in the state.
RunTru by Trane — the A5HP4 runs about $500 to $750 over the A5AC4, and the A5HP5 similar over the A5AC5. Two to four winters in South Florida, one or two further north.
Trane — the 5TWR4 is about $1,400 to $1,600 over the 5TTR4, and the 5TWR6 roughly $2,000 or more over the 5TTR6. That pays back comfortably in North Florida and over the life of the equipment in the south.
Our honest read
North and Central Florida: heat pump. The winter savings cover the premium on any of the three brands, and you stop paying strip-heat bills that surprise people every January.
South Florida: heat pump on Everwell without a second thought, and on RunTru for anyone staying in the house more than a few years. On Trane it is a closer call — the 5TTR6 is a superb air conditioner, and if the house sees a dozen cold mornings a year the strips are a cheap way to cover them.
Either way, order the heat kit with the system. Florida inspections generally expect a source of heat, and a 5 to 10 kW kit is under $150 on our accessories page. Your installer will tell you which output the house needs.
Two things people ask
Does a heat pump work in a Florida cold snap? Yes. The reversing-valve heat keeps working well below anything Florida sees; on the rare 30-degree morning the backup strips come on automatically to help, then drop out.
Is the heat pump less reliable? It has one more component, the reversing valve, and the same compressor, coil and warranty as its AC twin. In our own installs the failure rate is not different in any way we can see.
Questions?
Tell us the town and how long you plan to keep the house and we will tell you which one we would put in — call or email. Every pairing on the site is AHRI-certified either way; check any combination in the AHRI match checker.
(239) 266-9766 · sales@hvacsupplypro.com