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Heat pumps in cold weather were a scam until last winter proved me wrong | Climate Action - Talk Freely

kim727•5mo ago

Heat pumps in cold weather were a scam until last winter proved me wrong

I spent years telling people heat pumps were worthless once the temp dropped below freezing. Based on what I saw working on HVAC systems in the 2010s, the old models really did struggle when it hit 20 degrees. But last January we had that brutal stretch where it stayed below 15 for almost two weeks straight in Cleveland. My buddy installed a new Mitsubishi hyper heat unit in his 1920s drafty house and I figured he'd be calling me to fix a backup furnace. Instead his electric bill only went up by about $80 compared to the previous year with gas. I actually went over there with my thermometer gun and checked the vents myself. The air was coming out at a solid 95 degrees even when it was 10 outside. So now I'm questioning everything I thought I knew about cold climate heat pumps. Has anyone else switched their opinion after seeing the newer inverter models work in real winter conditions?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix295mo ago

Mitsubishi hyper heat runs at 100% capacity down to -13, so your buddy's setup actually works.

paulschmidt5mo ago

Oh man, that's close but not quite right. The Hyper Heat units can actually run at 100% capacity down to like -5 or so, then they taper off a bit after that. They still work down to -13 but it's not full output, more like 70-80% depending on the model.

alex_nguyen5mo ago

Gotta jump in on what @phoenix29 said because that's actually spot on for the newer units. I looked up the spec sheet after my buddy's system went in and yeah, the hyper heat models keep full capacity down to -13. What really got me was how the inverter technology just ramps up gradually instead of cycling on and off like the old ones. It makes a huge difference in how the whole house feels, way more consistent warmth.