How much does a heat pump cost per month in North Carolina?

About $26.91 a month, assuming 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year at 14.95¢/kWh.

How many kilowatt-hours does a heat pump use?

Roughly 2,160 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.44 kWh for every hour it runs.

Is that expensive compared with other states?

North Carolina has the 14th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $392 a year.

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Cost to run a heat pump in North Carolina (August 2026 rates)

At 14.95¢ per kilowatt-hour — North Carolina's average residential price in August 2026 — running a heat pump costs $323 a year. That is 18% less than the national average of $392. North Carolina's residential rate is up 2.5% from August 2025, which moves this appliance from $315 to $323 a year.

Per hour: 21.5¢
Per day of use: $2.15
Per month: $26.91
Per year: $323

Assumption: 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year — 2,160 kWh a year. A mid-size ducted heat pump in heating mode. It moves heat rather than making it, delivering two to four units of heat per unit of electricity until the outdoor temperature drops far enough to trigger backup resistance strips. Use the calculator to swap in the numbers from your own model.

How North Carolina compares

North Carolina pays 14.95¢/kWh, the 14th cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $69.34 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same heat pump costs $275 a year in Nevada and $1,019 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $744 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
Washington	14.63¢	$26.33	$316
Oklahoma	14.82¢	$26.68	$320
North Carolina	14.95¢	$26.91	$323
Florida	14.99¢	$26.98	$324
Arizona	15.05¢	$27.09	$325

States ranked by average residential price, cheapest first. See all 51 states for a heat pump.

What else costs about the same in North Carolina

Central air conditioner$352 a year in NC Hot tub$374 a year in NC Pool pump$258 a year in NC

Cutting the number down

Auxiliary resistance heat is the expensive mode. Big thermostat setbacks trigger it on recovery, so a steady setting usually beats aggressive setbacks.
Cold-climate models hold useful capacity well below freezing; older units fall back to strips much sooner.
Keeping the outdoor coil clear of snow, leaves and shrubs protects the efficiency you paid for.

Questions

How much does a heat pump cost per month in North Carolina?: About $26.91 a month, assuming 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year at 14.95¢/kWh.
How many kilowatt-hours does a heat pump use?: Roughly 2,160 kWh a year under these assumptions, or 1.44 kWh for every hour it runs.
Is that expensive compared with other states?: North Carolina has the 14th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $392 a year.