Electricity costs a lot more than it did when most Central PA heat pumps went in. Here’s how to tell if yours is due for replacement, and how to check for yourself.
The right time to replace a heat pump is before it quits, in the fall, on your schedule, with a system you chose. The wrong time is when the average temperatures dip below 30 degrees and the older heat pumps consume more electricity to operate — a single-digit night in January when it quits, every HVAC company in Central PA is booked solid, and you end up with whatever unit is on the supplier’s shelf truck.
That part hasn’t changed. The math has. Electricity costs roughly 3 times what it did when the first heat pumps went into Central PA homes, and a system that was a little inefficient back then is a real expense now.
What electricity really costs in Central PA now
One of our heating guys has been doing this since the days we were pulling out electric baseboard and putting in the first heat pumps. His supply contract came up for renewal this year, and here’s how he tells it:
“My rate was 11.99 cents a kilowatt-hour. Bad enough, right? Then I read the back of the PPL bill, and my real cost worked out to 18.15 cents. When we were selling those first heat pumps, electricity was 6 cents per kilowatt hour. We’d show a homeowner they’d cut their heating bill by a third, sometimes half, and throw in central air on top of it. SOLD! Now I’m paying 3 times that rate, and so is everybody else.”
He’s on PPL Electric, the utility for most of Central PA. If you’re with Met-Ed, your bill is built the same way: a supply charge you can shop for, and a delivery charge you can’t. When he went shopping, PPL’s posted “Price to Compare” was about 13.1 cents for supply, and the suppliers were offering anywhere from 12.8 to 16.5 cents depending on the term, fixed or variable, monthly fees, and green options.* Shop it if you like. The delivery charge doesn’t move, so you’re paying around 18 cents or more for every kilowatt-hour, and after that the only number you control is how many kilowatt-hours the heat pump uses. That depends on two things. How cold the winter is, which the utility measures in heating degree days, and how well the system turns electricity into heat. You only get a say in the second one.
Here’s why the rate matters so much. Say your heat pump pulls 1,500 kilowatt-hours in a cold month. At the old six-cent rate that was $90. At eighteen cents it’s $270. Now say the system is tired, the charge is off, and the ducts leak, so it takes a third more electricity to make the same heat. That’s 2,000 kilowatt-hours, and the same cold month costs $360. Every inefficiency your system has is multiplied by the rate, and the rate has tripled. A system that was worth tolerating in 2005 is worth replacing NOW.
*Rates quoted are from an actual 2026 PPL Electric residential bill and supplier offers at the time, and they change. Check your own bill or your utility’s website (pplelectric.com, or firstenergycorp.com for Met-Ed) for current supply, delivery, and Price to Compare rates.
Signs your heat pump is costing you more than it should
- Your electric bill jumped and the weather didn’t. If this November cost a lot more than last November and it wasn’t colder, the system is working harder for the same heat.
- The outdoor unit is more than 10 years old and runs almost constantly without hitting the thermostat setting.
- Ice stays on the outdoor coil long after the defrost cycle should have cleared it.
- The auxiliary or emergency heat comes on during mild weather. Those electric heat strips in your air handler are giant toaster elements. They should only run in a deep freeze or during defrost. If they’re on at 40 degrees, the heat pump isn’t doing its job and you’re paying for straight electric resistance heat, and running the heat pump compressor at the same time!
- It runs on R-22 refrigerant. R-22 production ended in 2020. Fixing a leak on an R-22 system means paying a lot for scarce refrigerant to put into a system that’s going to leak again.
- It’s broken down more than once in the last two years.
Why heat pump installation matters more than the efficiency rating
Industry field studies have been saying the same thing for years: more than 50% of the heat pumps installed in this country have at least one of three problems. The refrigerant charge is wrong, the airflow across the coil is restricted, or the ductwork leaks. Any one of those pulls the real-world efficiency well below the number on the label.
A wrong refrigerant charge starves or floods the coil. Restricted airflow, from undersized ducts, a dirty coil, or a filter you routinely forget to change, means the system can’t move the heat it makes. Leaky ducts dump heated air into the attic or crawlspace and pull unconditioned air back in. You can buy the best heat pump on the market and give a big chunk of its efficiency right back to any one of those culprits.
Which is why a new high-efficiency unit by itself isn’t the whole answer. The equipment and the ductwork are one system. Leave the leaky ducts alone and the new unit underperforms the same way the old one did.
Heat pump repair or replace: how the decision tool works
We built a quick scoring tool so you can check this yourself. Go to ProntoService.com/HeatPumpTool, answer a few questions about your system, and it gives you a score out of 85. Here’s what it asks about and how to read the score.
The unit itself
- Age. Under 8 years scores high. Over 15 scores zero.
- Repair cost versus replacement cost. A repair under 25 percent of a new system is usually worth doing unless it’s recurring or an R-22 system. Over 50 percent usually isn’t.
- The Industry Standard 5,000 rule. Multiply the unit’s age by the repair cost. Under $3,000, repair. Over $5,000, replace. A $1,000 repair on a 6-year-old unit is $6,000, and that’s a replace signal.
The system’s condition
- How often it’s broken down in the last two years.
- Whether the compressor still works. A dead compressor on an out-of-warranty older unit is almost always a replacement.
- Refrigerant type. R-410A or newer scores well. R-22 scores zero.
- Efficiency rating (SEER and HSPF). A high-efficiency unit is worth keeping longer than a builder-grade one.
- Comfort. Does it keep the house even and comfortable, or are there rooms that never get right?
- Whether it’s under warranty.
- Whether your bills have been rising year over year.
- Whether rebates or tax credits are available right now that would offset a new system.
Your Score
A well-installed 8-year-old system with one cheap repair will land in the repair range, and it should.
What the Pronto Heat Pump QM System Score tells you
The decision tool works from what you already know. The QM program works from what we measure. On a QM visit a technician tests nine components across the equipment and the ductwork, including the refrigerant charge, the airflow, and duct leakage, and those results produce a System Score for your house. Nobody has to eyeball the outdoor unit and guess. You get a number that says how much of the electricity you’re buying is actually turning into heat in your living room.
Then the score tells you what to do. If the equipment tests strong and the problem is a leaky duct run or a charge that’s off, you fix that and keep the system. If the compressor is worn, the charge is off, and the ducts are undersized, no repair is going to bring the bill down, and you plan the replacement on your own timeline.
Why Fall is the best time to replace a heat pump
- You get to choose. Efficiency tier, variable-speed or single-stage, cold-climate models that keep making heat well below freezing before the heat strips come on, sound level, warranty. In February you get what’s in stock.
- Your electrical panel gets looked at first. Older Central PA homes with 100-amp service sometimes need a panel upgrade to support a new heat pump and its backup heat safely. Better to know that in October than the day the old one dies.
- Ductwork gets fixed at the same time, so the new system performs like the label says.
- You can line up rebates and tax credits, which change year to year and take paperwork.
- No emergency rates, and no week of space heaters while you wait.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a heat pump last?
Around 15 years is the usual figure. Annual maintenance, clean filters, and a correct refrigerant charge stretch that. Restricted airflow and leaky ducts shorten it, because the system runs longer and harder for the same result.
Why is my auxiliary or emergency heat running all the time?
Auxiliary heat is supposed to come on when the heat pump can’t keep up in a deep freeze, or briefly during a defrost cycle. If it’s running in mild weather, the usual causes are low refrigerant, a failing sensor or thermostat, or a compressor that’s losing capacity. It’s the single biggest reason heat pump electric bills spike, and it’s worth a service call on its own. Unfortunately, you won’t know it happened until your electric bill shows up! Too late!
How do leaky ducts affect my heat pump?
Heated air goes into the attic or crawlspace instead of the house, so the system runs longer to hit the thermostat. The leaks also pull unconditioned air back into the ducts. Sealing them is one of the cheapest efficiency fixes there is, and it’s why the QM test includes the ductwork.
Will I need an electrical panel upgrade for a new heat pump?
Sometimes. It depends on the panel you have and the system going in. Older homes with 100-amp service may need 200-amp service to run a heat pump and its backup heat strips safely. We check this before we quote so it’s never a surprise.
What’s the difference between the decision tool and the QM System Score?
The decision tool is something you do at home in five minutes with what you already know: age, repair quote, breakdowns, refrigerant type. The QM System Score is a technician measuring the system in your house. Use the tool first. If it lands in the borderline or replace range, the QM visit tells you exactly why and what to do about it.
Heat pump repair and replacement in Central PA
Pronto Plumbing, Heating, Air & Drains has been keeping Central PA homes comfortable since 1969, from our shop in Camp Hill, serving Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, and the surrounding communities across the region.
Start with the Electric Heat Pump: Repair or Replace Decision Tool and see where your system lands. Then call Pronto at 717-470-8201 to schedule a Heat Pump QM System Score before the cold weather gets here. You’ll know exactly how your system is performing, what it’s costing you, and whether your next high-efficiency heat pump should go in this fall or a few years from now.
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