A Department of Energy competition proved that heat pumps can perform great in winter. 

The scoop

In 2021, the Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge invited manufacturers to come up with the best winter-ready heat pumps they could. 

Bosch, Carrier, Daikin, Johnson Controls, Lennox, Midea, Rheem, and Trane Technologies all took a shot and successfully made working prototypes. Carrier said its unit could work in temperatures as low as minus-23 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Twenty-three homes were kitted out with new heat pumps from eight of those manufacturers, and data was gathered on their performance for a year. All the cold-climate heat pumps that went through this field test are moving forward to production, some as soon as this fall.  

Heat pumps work by shunting heat into or out of a home using a compressed gas that flows in a loop. It's the same thing as your fridge, except the loop can flow in reverse, depending if you want to heat or cool the home. 

One of the key technologies at work in the competition was variable-speed compressors. Normally heat pumps only have single on and off settings for the gas compressor. Being able to dial that compressor speed up or down based on temperature helped improve efficiency. 

How it's helping

"Cold-climate heat pumps can lower bills while maintaining comfort in very low temperatures, especially for people who use inefficient systems that rely on propane, oil or electric resistance," said Lacey Tan of energy think tank RMI, according to The Washington Post.

Heat pumps use much less energy than other forms of home climate control, but that can be compromised when backup systems need to kick in at low temperatures. This competition shows that the technology is evolving to deal with that issue. 

Besides bill savings, pollution from home energy use is high in America. Making heating and cooling more efficient can bring that down and help the environment in the long haul. Despite all that upside, the upfront cost of a heat pump can still be challenging. 

Which of these factors would most effectively motivate you to buy a heat pump? Lower energy bills 💰 Better temperature control 🌡️ Helping the planet 🌎 I'd never buy a heat pump 🚫 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

For now, incentives exist to get over the financial hump of a heat pump purchase, but they may not be around forever. An act of Congress could remove Inflation Reduction Act funding that heat pump incentives depend on. If you act soon, you can take advantage of thousands of dollars of savings while it's still available. Take a look at the EnergySage heat pump marketplace whenever you're ready to make the switch.  

Heat pumps are just one way to improve your home's energy efficiency. Check out our weatherization guide to find out more ways you can save on your utility bills. 

What everyone's saying

Redditors were impressed with the results of the competition. 

"This is huge, it should be a big help in getting wider adoption here in Canada," the top commenter said.

"The units coming out of this challenge should be a meaningful, if incremental, improvement over what's currently on the market," another user wrote.

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