Complete Guide
Heat Pumps 101
How heat pumps actually work, why cold climates are less of a barrier than reputation suggests, and how to compare them fairly against your existing system.
A heat pump moves heat rather than generating it directly — pulling heat from outside air (even cold air, which still contains usable heat energy) into your home in winter, and reversing the process to cool your home in summer. That single mechanism is behind most of what makes heat pumps different to shop for and to evaluate than a furnace-plus-AC setup.
The cold-climate question, answered honestly
The "heat pumps don't work in cold weather" reputation is outdated for current cold-climate-rated equipment, but not entirely wrong — capacity and efficiency do decline as temperature drops, and backup heat for the coldest days is normal system design, not a sign of failure. Our cold-climate performance guide covers what actually changes, what "cold-climate rated" specifically certifies, and the questions worth asking an installer.
Ducted or ductless — a real decision, not just an aesthetic one
Multi-zone ductless mini-splits can now handle whole-home heating and cooling, not just single-room additions, and they avoid duct losses entirely by not using ducts at all. Whether that's an advantage for your house depends on whether your existing ductwork is in good condition or absent — our ductless mini-split guide walks through when each approach genuinely makes more sense.
Reading efficiency ratings correctly
SEER2 replaced SEER as the U.S. testing standard in 2023, and the numbers aren't directly comparable across the transition — a lower SEER2 number isn't necessarily a step down from an older SEER rating. Heat pumps also carry a separate HSPF2 rating for heating performance. Our SEER2 explainer covers how to compare ratings correctly when shopping.
The federal credit that applies here is not the solar credit
Heat pumps qualify for the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, a separate federal provision from the 30% solar credit, with its own annual dollar caps rather than an uncapped percentage. Our guide to this credit covers the cap structure and how timing a larger renovation across tax years can affect your total credit captured.
Compare the real numbers
Use our Heat Pump Savings Calculator to compare annual cost against your specific existing system — gas, oil, propane, or electric resistance — rather than relying on a generic "heat pumps save X%" claim.