New cold climate heat pumps on the market

The Department of Energy announced in fall 2021 that they would partner with a variety of heat pump manufacturers for a Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge. As buildings in the residential and commercial sectors contribute to 34% of the greenhouse gas emissions produced in the United States, with 40% of that through space heating and cooling, it is important to transition our homes away from relying on methane gas. This way, we can reap the benefits of clean heat and clean energy in our own homes.

Heat pumps (HP) in general are becoming more popular in the United States, with 13% of all US homes relying primarily on a heat pump for heating in 2020, up from 10% in 2015. However, most heat pumps are installed in southern states because standard heat pumps function better at warmer temperatures for cooling homes that would otherwise use air conditioning.

Cold climate heat pumps (CCHPs), unlike standard heat pumps, are designed to work efficiently at much colder temperatures. CCHPs, like standard heat pumps, use a coefficient of performance (COP) to indicate how much heat you get out for the electricity you put in. A standard heat pump has a COP of 3.0 to 6.0, meaning it will output three to six times as much heat for the electricity it uses under normal conditions. In cold weather, the COP drops to 1.0, or a 1:1 ratio. CCHPs are a vital part of decarbonizing areas of the country, like Illinois, that experience colder winters because they retain a COP of 2.0 to 3.0 even at temperatures as low as 5 F. This means that at low temperatures in the winter, your CCHP will still output two to three times as much heat as the electricity it needs to run.

Eight firms participated in the challenge to design a CCHP prototype to withstand harsh winter conditions. These included functioning with a COP of 2.1-2.4 (depending on system size) in single digit weather. Some units were even able to meet efficiency requirements at -15 F.

The prototype designs will be available starting late 2024.