Can Heat Pumps Handle Canada’s Coldest Cities?

Yeah its "working" in those -20c and colder temps, but the COP of the unit is likely close to 1.5 at that point. For a heat pump here in Manitoba to match the cost per BTU, of electricity vs NG, it needs to maintain a COP of 3.0. Factor in massive installation costs and they quickly don't make financial sense at all here. Now if your personal goal is to reduce your homes carbon emissions in a way that is more efficient than just pure electric heat (COP of 1.0) then sure a heat pump will do that for you, but it will be more expensive than NG heating.

Heat pumps are great if you have cheap electricity and a newer house with great insulation. If you don’t your electricity bill will more that double. Where does electricity come from, coal and natural gas.

I do wish journalists would distinguish between air source and ground source heat pumps, which are two very different things. Air source types can extract heat from air and heat your home down to about minus 15C, depending on model. Ground source types work at all times in the coldest weather, as the ground has a limitless amount of heat to tap into. More money, of course, but that's because there is digging to do.

My delivery, storage or other expenses for gas are greater than my consumption. The “climate tax” also adds a fair amount to my bill. If a heat pump will not heat my home during a typical NW Ontario winter, I still need to rely on gas. Those charges are still there, from my perspective, this seems like a very minimal savings.

A heat pump could be a good value in some conditions as a supplement to forced-air or in-floor gas or fuel-oil heat with adequate public subsidies, but they're not a sufficient substitute in most parts of Canada. You can't rely on them to keep your house warm in extreme temperatures, and electricity prices are only rising as grid reliability deteriorates.

You heard it here from the horses mouth.. you have to use an alternative 'heat source' when it gets too cold.. So not every day in Jan. Feb. March like he wants you to believe are always -30 or -40. Many are. But sometimes you might get a range where a heat-pump will work. So its unreliable. And it sounds like it runs constantly so I question its energy cost.

Yes air source heat pumps don't work well past -15 and don't really work at all past -25 (some claim -30). Yes in ground systems seem to be good to about -35, but an in ground system is going to cost you around 45,000 dollars on a rural property (much more if your in a dense urban area assuming you can even do it). 45k buys a lot of natural gas, and if you think the 45k ground system is a once off cost plus a little bit of electricity your going to be in for a nasty surprise. Repairs on compressors or god forbid a pipe failure can easily cost tens of thousands of dollars. For context a high efficiency gas furnace will run you less than 2-3k including install.

My house has a heat pump system and it's great when it's not super cold. But don't make statements like you'll replace your gas furnace because you'll still need that as a backup. The heat pump works with your traditional system you'll need both systems so if your furnace is bad you'll need to fix or replace it no matter if you get a heat pump.

Sounds like a decent option but I'll stick with my radiant indoor heating. Costs half what the furnace cost me and heats the house no matter how cold it is outside.

OMG!!! this guy is delirious!! Heat pumps are about 7% efficient when the temperatures go below 0C. To heat an average size house with electricity (including heat pumps) would cost more than $1,000 per month from early December to the end of February..... and that's only heating 1,000 sq ft it to 18C.

So you need two systems to heat your house, or you freeze. And better hope the grid can handle it; guess what it can't.

We live in BC and have a relatively new heat pump system with electric backup. In December, January and February it is almost always running on electric backup, which is much more expensive than natural gas where we live. In addition to the cost issue, when our power goes out in the winter (2-3 times a year - usually due to a storm knocking down a tree onto a powerline) we have no heat!

DIdnt explain of what happens when you cant use a heat pump? So you have a regular furnace as well? Sorry a bit of confusion.

So with the unit running for long periods just to heat the home, this will dramatically reduce the life expectancy of the unit, not to mention the cost of electricity to run the unit and the electric back-up. The Hydro bills must be very high as electricity is not cheap anywhere in Canada except Quebec !!!

I have a heat pump and a forced air electric furnace. The heat pump will work to about -9 or so then I have to turn the furnace on. I try to use the heat pump as much as I can and it all depends on the temperature outside on how much I use it. My HVAC guy said after -9 or thereabouts the heat pump will work hard and said you would be better off using the furnace.

Electricity is very expensive in canadas north and the still requires gas in negative temperatures

The question remains, which is cheaper to run in Winnipeg, conventional gas or heat pump. That's what people want to know. Most cold weather installations need backup, as pointed out. But if the backup is electric, cost is extremely high. Plus there is significant doubts concerning present and future capacity for electrical generation and transmission. If you're in the north this is not a question of comfort but survival.

ALMOST every month if the year is not acceptable!!!

How is it any good when you need a back up source ???

I am considering but it's hard to make a decision.