Heat pumps don’t work well (even the new ones coming from this article are only good to 15f) anywhere near that cold. Most are only good to about 25f. Anywhere they’re installed that drops below freezing all have a backup heat system, whether or not it’s a gas backup, or resistive electric backup.
Some large commercial heat pumps will got down to like 0 degrees F, but none of the residential ones do.
I understand heat pumps are really good now and do function at colder temperatures than we usually see, which is fantastic. However they get much less efficient as the temperature difference get bigger, meaning you’d have to size the appliance much bigger.
When I looked into this, in New England, HVAC companies were consistently telling me they’d work but not that effectively, and insist led on a new gas furnace as backup heat, as the cheaper option over sizing the heat pump enough to effectively keep the house comfortable
H2i® models provide heating, even in outdoor temperatures as low as -13° F, producing up to 100% heating capacity at 5° F. These units offer year-round comfort even in extreme climates
Their technical documents show that they are down to about 20% of their usual heat output at that lowest temperature so they need to be sized up accordingly. The reality for most folks in an area cold enough to require these is they have backup heat sources for the coldest days anyways.
Heat pumps don’t work well (even the new ones coming from this article are only good to 15f) anywhere near that cold. Most are only good to about 25f. Anywhere they’re installed that drops below freezing all have a backup heat system, whether or not it’s a gas backup, or resistive electric backup.
Some large commercial heat pumps will got down to like 0 degrees F, but none of the residential ones do.
I am looking out my window at a heat pump in my back yard which is effective down to -15F. Your info is I think about 10 years out of date.
But is it effective , or work?
I understand heat pumps are really good now and do function at colder temperatures than we usually see, which is fantastic. However they get much less efficient as the temperature difference get bigger, meaning you’d have to size the appliance much bigger.
When I looked into this, in New England, HVAC companies were consistently telling me they’d work but not that effectively, and insist led on a new gas furnace as backup heat, as the cheaper option over sizing the heat pump enough to effectively keep the house comfortable
I think you’re forgetting ground source heat pumps. They’ll work fine at -40 because they don’t rely on air temperature.
Those are different and that’s cheating. It’s not what this article is referencing or talking about.
They’re literally all over the Alps and you’ve been lied to
Oh yeah? Link me one single residential heat pump from anywhere that works sub 0F.
Here
Their technical documents show that they are down to about 20% of their usual heat output at that lowest temperature so they need to be sized up accordingly. The reality for most folks in an area cold enough to require these is they have backup heat sources for the coldest days anyways.
Sorry I don’t speak medieval, could you translate the temperature from 16th to 21st century?