Key Points
If youre one of the 100 percent of humans who lives somewhere warmer than 460 Fahrenheit, weve got good news: You probably qualify for a heat pump..
If the air is warmer than 460 F, or absolute zero, its got thermal energy in it...
If heat pumps dont actually work in frigid weather, no one told the Nordic nations, which endure Europes coldest climates, with average winter temperatures around 0 degrees Celsius (32 degrees F)..
Its really all about the refrigerant, says Katie Davis, vice president of engineering and technology for residential HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) at Trane Technologies, which produces heat pumps..
The study also looked at cold-climate heat pumps in more extreme environments: At a punishing 30 degrees C (22 degrees F), a Mitsubishi model produced COPs between 1.5 and 2, and a Toshiba model between 1 and 1.5...
