Industrial Heat Pumps & Electrified Thermal Systems worked example

COP Payback with installed heat pump project cost of 875,000 $: a worked example

Push installed heat pump project cost up to 875,000 $ and the picture changes. This example computes every intermediate figure at that operating point. Use it when an energy manager or plant engineer is screening a boiler replacement, hot water loop upgrade, or waste heat recovery project for a manufacturing site.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Installed heat pump project cost: 875,000 $ (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 350,000)
  • Annual energy and fuel savings: 125,000 $ / yr (unchanged)
  • Annual heat pump support cost: 18,000 $ / yr (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Net annual heat pump savings = annual energy and fuel savings - annual heat pump support cost) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 8.18 yr for cop project payback period, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 107,000 $ / yr for net annual heat pump savings.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 875,000 $ for installed heat pump project cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns -340,000 $ for five-year net heat pump benefit.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where installed heat pump project cost sits at 350,000 $ and the headline result is 3.27 yr, this scenario comes in 150% above the baseline at 8.18 yr.
  • It computes the simple payback period in years by dividing the installed heat pump project cost by net annual savings (energy and fuel savings minus annual heat pump support cost). The value of this scenario is the size of the gap it exposes: that gap, priced out over a year, is the budget you can justify spending to close it.

Results at a glance

  • COP project payback period: 8.18 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual heat pump savings: 107,000 $ / yr
  • Installed heat pump project cost: 875,000 $
  • Five-year net heat pump benefit: -340,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live COP Payback calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.