Industrial Heat Pumps & Electrified Thermal Systems worked example

COP Payback with installed heat pump project cost of 175,000 $: a worked example

This worked example runs the cop payback numbers for a tougher week than the baseline: installed heat pump project cost of 175,000 $ instead of the typical 350,000 $. Estimate simple payback for an industrial heat pump project by comparing installed cost with annual utility savings and ongoing support cost.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Installed heat pump project cost: 175,000 $ (the input this scenario stresses; the baseline uses 350,000)
  • Annual energy and fuel savings: 125,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)
  • Annual heat pump support cost: 18,000 $ / yr (held at the documented default)

Working through the calculation

  • The calculation starts from the formula this tool documents: Net annual heat pump savings = annual energy and fuel savings - annual heat pump support cost.
  • COP project payback period works out to 1.64 yr at these inputs, and this is the headline figure for the scenario.
  • Net annual heat pump savings works out to 107,000 $ / yr at these inputs.
  • Installed heat pump project cost works out to 175,000 $ at these inputs.
  • Five-year net heat pump benefit works out to 360,000 $ at these inputs.

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 50% below the baseline at 1.64 yr.
  • Use it when scoping or sanctioning an industrial heat pump retrofit and you need a payback figure to compare against gas-fired or steam alternatives. A result at this level usually justifies acting on the stressed input before touching anything else, because every other figure in the table is downstream of it.

Results at a glance

  • COP project payback period: 1.64 yr (headline result)
  • Net annual heat pump savings: 107,000 $ / yr
  • Installed heat pump project cost: 175,000 $
  • Five-year net heat pump benefit: 360,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • To rerun this with your own numbers, open the live COP Payback calculator, set installed heat pump project cost to your actual value, and adjust the remaining inputs to match your operation.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.