DOE Efforts Send New Cold-Climate Heat Pumps to the Market

The U.S Department of Energy announced that all eight manufacturers in the Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge completed rigorous product field testing to demonstrate energy efficiency and improved performance in cold weather. Cold climate heat pumps developed as part of the challenge will soon enter commercial production, manufacturers report.

Bosch, Carrier, Daikin, Johnson Controls, Lennox, Midea, Rheem and Trane Technologies participated in the challenge. They successfully completed prototype testing at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other facilities in 2022 and 2023, with some units operating at temperatures as low as –15 F, while still meeting efficiency requirements. The companies then moved products into field testing in 23 residential sites located across 10 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces. In partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, each site gathered a full year of data. U.S. testing sites were in the Northeast, Midwest and Mountain regions.

Building upon the success of the residential challenge, DOE is now working with nine heat pump manufacturers to advance rooftop units for commercial buildings through a new technology challenge. This initiative is part of the Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator, in which the DOE is working across the supply chain for commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems to advance the adoption of heat pump RTUs.

Learn more here.