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

About $27.85 a month, assuming 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year at 15.47¢/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?

South Carolina has the 20th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $395 a year.

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Cost to run a heat pump in South Carolina (July 2026 rates)

At 15.47¢ per kilowatt-hour — South Carolina's average residential price in July 2026 — running a heat pump costs $334 a year. That is 16% less than the national average of $395. South Carolina's residential rate is up 5.2% from July 2025, which moves this appliance from $318 to $334 a year.

Per hour: 22.3¢
Per day of use: $2.23
Per month: $27.85
Per year: $334

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 South Carolina compares

South Carolina pays 15.47¢/kWh, the 20th cheapest residential electricity of the 51 U.S. jurisdictions EIA reports. For this appliance that works out to $61.34 less a year than the typical U.S. household pays for the same use. Running the same heat pump costs $275 a year in Louisiana and $1,037 in Hawaii, so where you live changes this bill by $762 a year.

State	Rate	Per month	Per year
South Dakota	15.37¢	$27.67	$332
Arizona	15.38¢	$27.68	$332
South Carolina	15.47¢	$27.85	$334
West Virginia	15.78¢	$28.40	$341
Texas	15.88¢	$28.58	$343

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

What else costs about the same in South Carolina

Central air conditioner$364 a year in SC Hot tub$387 a year in SC Pool pump$267 a year in SC

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 South Carolina?: About $27.85 a month, assuming 2,400 W at a 60% duty cycle, 10 hours a day, 150 days a year at 15.47¢/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?: South Carolina has the 20th cheapest average residential rate in the country, so this appliance costs less here than the U.S. average of $395 a year.