What is a heat pump?

• A heat pump looks like a large air conditioning unit, which is fixed to the outside of your home. 

• Heat pumps transfer heat from outside your home into your home, instead of generating heat, so they’re much more efficient.

• Heat pumps can be 4 times more efficient than electric baseboard heat.

• Heat pumps are also much “greener”, significantly reducing the burning of fossil fuels in home heating.

• Heat pumps can be used to heat the air inside your home and / or to heat hot water in your home.

What are the different sorts of heat pumps?

Air source vs ground source

Heat pumps are often categorized by their thermal energy source:

1. Air source heat pumps use heat from the air and are the most commonly used. They can reduce your electricity use for heating by 75% (Department of Energy).
   
   

2. Ground source or geothermal heat pumps use heat from the ground. Upfront costs are higher, but efficiencies can be greater long term.

Air-to-air vs Air-to-water

Heat pumps are also categorized by what they transfer the energy to:

1. Air-to-air heat pumps gather energy from the air and release it into the indoor air.
   
   

2. Air-to-water heat pumps gather energy from the air and use it to heat water. 

What type of heating systems can heat pumps work with?

Heat pumps can be used instead of gas furnaces, electric baseboards, in-floor radiant heat or radiators.

Ducted heat pumps

Ducted heat pumps work with the existing ductwork (pipes or tubes), delivering heat all over your home. These air source heat pumps can normally be installed as a drop-in replacement when a furnace needs replacement.

Ductless “mini-split” heat pumps

Heat pumps also work well in homes without existing ductwork. This can be useful if you currently have a non-ducted heating system, have small spaces or new room additions where you cannot extend the ductwork.

“Mini-split” refers to being a ​“split” heat-pump system.  Mini split heat pumps have an outdoor unit and indoor units mounted on the wall or ceiling in each room. The indoor units blow air directly into an individual room or heating and cooling zone. 

Pictured above, a ductless system with small air-handling units.

Ductless air-to-water heat pumps

Air-to-water heat pumps, another ductless option, provide heating via hot water for in-floor radiant heat or radiators.

Hybrid heat pump systems

Hybrid or “dual fuel” systems combine a heat pump with a gas furnace. The heat pump is used for efficient heating most of the time, but switches to the furnace when needed, in colder temperatures. Both the heat pump and furnace usually use the same ductwork, keeping installation straightforward.

Heat pump water heaters

Most people use heat pumps to heat their homes, but heat pumps can also be used to heat water. This can be via a stand alone water heater or in combination with space heating. Heat pump water heaters are typically two to three times more efficient than conventional water heaters.

Do heat pumps work in our cold climate?

• Special cold climate heat pumps are engineered to be more reliable and efficient in cold temperatures. They work down to around -22°F.
  
  

• Efficiency does decline as temperatures drop below 5F, but they continue to generate heat down to -22F. Below 0° F, heat pumps can still heat your home with more than twice the efficiency of gas heating or standard electric heating (such as electric furnaces and baseboard heaters).
  
  

• Due to the very cold temperatures in our mountain region, homes with heat pumps do need a back up heat source when temperatures dip. The back up could be an existing system or a hybrid heat pump system, with an integrated back up system.
  
  

• The heat pump heats your home much more efficiently most of the time and then the back up system kicks in, at very low temperatures.

What are the benefits of heat pumps?

Lower bills

Heat pumps are several times more efficient than traditional heating systems, so they can save you money on your energy bills. They can also protect you from the worst of any price spikes, caused by extreme weather or high energy demand.

Reduced carbon emissions

Home heating (and cooling) is typically the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in your home. Heat pumps just use a small amount of electricity to run the pump, which significantly reduces the burning of fossil fuels in your home, so you can reduce your carbon footprint.

Heating and cooling for your home

Heat pumps can heat and cool your home. Why use and pay for 2 appliances if one can do both jobs? A heat pump can replace a home heating system like a furnace, boiler, or inefficient baseboard heat and a traditional air conditioner if you have one.

Safety

Heat pumps are safer than gas furnaces, eliminating the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning and other hazards associated with gas combustion.

What are the costs and rebates?

The average cost of a heat pump installation is around $16,000 - $20,000, but there are many rebates available, often reducing the cost to around $8,000 - $10,000 (Re-wiring America). Check with your contractor for costs specific to your home and needs.

Check out our rebate calculator for the federal, state and local utility rebates and credits available in Grand County, to reduce your costs: https://www.sustainablegrand.org/resources/rebates-incentives.

Mountain Parks Electric offers rebates specifically for cold climate heat pumps https://mpei.com/2025-rebates.

How does a heat pump work? 

Are you ready for some physics?!

1. In the winter, cold liquid refrigerant absorbs heat from outside (even in subfreezing temperatures the air contains some heat), it boils at a low temperature, evaporating as its temperature increases and turns into a gas.
   
   

2. A compressor then squeezes the refrigerant gas, making it hotter, because gases heat up under pressure. 

3. This really hot compressed gas is directed into the indoor unit, where it flows through a heat exchanger (coil) and into the home.
   
   

4. The refrigerant then cools back to a liquid, and after it pours through an expansion valve to chill it even further, it’s ready to absorb more heat from the outdoors once again.