Best Cold Climate Heat Pumps in Canada

We get it; choosing the best cold climate heat pump in Canada for your home can be overwhelming. Our team understands the difficulties accompanying the search for the best heat pump in Canada and has committed to helping consumers like you select the perfect products for their homes.

We cover nearly every base in home products, from the best kitchen appliances to the best heat pumps to keep you cozy in the winter and comfortable in the summer. Our unwavering dedication to thorough, extensive research enables us to select only the best products.

In our research to find the best cold-climate heat pumps in Canada, we examined a few key areas, including the following:

• Sizing: Each home is different, so sizing inclusivity is essential. Smaller houses will require less heating output, whereas larger homes will need more to ensure optimal comfort. We looked for models with multiple outputs to ensure there’s something to accommodate almost any home.
• Temperature limits: The best cold climate heat pumps in Canada can withstand the icy cold of Canadian winters. We looked for models that offered the best low-temperature ratings of around -25 to -30 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Smart features: High-tech additions, like Wi-Fi compatibility, can be beneficial additions to a heat pump system. While technically unnecessary, they can exponentially improve performance by giving you ultimate control from virtually any location.
• Safety features: While heat pumps are generally safer than other forms of heating, such as gas or wood heat, safety features are still an essential consideration. We looked for models that integrate built-in safety features, such as leak detection systems, to promote the safety of you and your family while using these products.

Cold Climate Heat Pump Terms to Know

The HVAC world, like many industries, is teeming with industry-specific terms that may only be familiar to some. As you sift through your heat pump options, you’ll probably come across a few you’re unfamiliar with, but it’s important to have a baseline understanding to ensure you select the right choice. Here’s a quick peek into common terms to help you navigate this list:

• SEER: The Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER for short, measures the cooling output ratio over a typical cooling season divided by its total energy use in watt-hours. In layman’s terms, this tells you how efficient your system is. So, the higher the number, the more efficient the unit.
• HSPF: The Heating Seasonal Performance Factor is similar to the SEER rating but measures heating efficiency. It measures the ratio of the heating output throughout a typical heating season to the electricity consumed. The higher the number, the more efficient the unit.
• BTUs: British Thermal Units, or BTUs for short, are a measurement that indicates the amount of energy your heat pump or system consumes to do its job effectively.

Why Choose A Cold Climate Heat Pump in Canada?

Canadian winters aren’t known for their lenience. Instead, the winter months leave many Canadians reminiscing on warmer summer days as they’re trapped inside, watching a blizzard screech outside their windows. Temperatures plummet, falling rapidly into the ultra-cold negatives.

So, a cold climate model is usually best when choosing a heat pump for your Canadian home. Cold climate heat pumps, as the name implies, are designed for the cold. Most models can effortlessly withstand temperatures that dive into the negatives, far surpassing the lower limit of regular heat pumps, which tap out at around -10 degrees Celsius.

They can continue functioning at extremely low temperatures, continuing to siphon heat from the outdoor air in temperatures as cool as -30 degrees Celsius. They offer many of the same benefits as regular heat pumps, but they’re built more durable, designed to withstand the fury of Canadian winters.

Factors to Look for in a Cold Climate Heat Pump in Canada

Sizing

Selecting an appropriately sized heat pump is essential to ensuring you get the best fit. If your system is too small, it will have to work overtime trying to keep your home comfortable. Conversely, if it’s too large, it may cycle too frequently (applicable to central heat pumps), causing wear and tear due to frequent starts and stops.

Since neither option is ideal, selecting a model that matches your home’s size is important. When you look for a heat pump, you’ll usually see its output expressed in BTUs or tons. 12,000 BTUs is equivalent to one ton, so conversions between the two are simple.

As a general rule, you need about 30 BTUs of heating output per square foot of living space. This ensures your system’s capacity matches the size of your home and can adequately heat or cool the space.

For example, if you have 1,000 square feet of living space in your home, you’ll need about 30,000 BTUs of heating output. This is equivalent to a 2.5-ton heat pump. Or, if you have 400 feet of living space, you would need 12,000 BTUs of heating output, which is equal to a one-ton heat pump.

The sizing rule will provide a general overview of the size necessary for your home. However, various factors may affect the correct size. Elements like poor insulation, drafty windows, or leaky doors will cause your home to lose heat. You’ll likely need a slightly larger unit to compensate for heat loss through these points.

Given all the factors contributing to selecting the best system size, choosing the best fit can be complicated. Seeking assistance from an experienced HVAC technician is usually recommended, as they can account for factors specific to your home to ensure you select the right system size.

Zoning

For some folks, isolated temperature control is ideal, as it ensures multiple people with different temperature preferences can remain comfortable. For example, if you prefer a toasty home where you can wear spring and summer clothes year round, but your roommate enjoys bundling up in fluffy sweatshirts and long pants, a zoned system allows you to meet in the middle.

Dual or multi-system heat pumps feature several indoor heads connected to one or more outdoor units. Each head is placed in a separate space, allowing you to have individual control over each head and, therefore, each room’s temperature.

Aside from accommodating varying comfort preferences, these systems offer excellent savings. For example, the separate indoor heads allow you to heat or cool the space you’re in, ensuring you never waste money on heating or cooling an unused room.

Of course, they might not be the best fit for every home, especially if you have a large home or family. Central heat pumps are more suitable in these cases, as they offer consistent temperatures throughout the house, ensuring no room gets overly hot or cold.

Efficiency

You’ll see varying SEER and HSPF ratings as you browse through your options. Heat pumps have both, whereas other HVAC equipment, like air conditioners, have one or the other. They’re able to provide heating and cooling, as they can reverse their function. For cooling, they pull heat from inside and bring it outdoors; for heating, they siphon air from outside and ship it indoors.

These ratings are important to consider, as they’ll indicate how efficient your system is. Generally, you should choose a higher HSPF and SEER rating, as these show better efficiency. However, high-efficiency ratings often go hand-in-hand with cost. If you’re on a budget, we recommend opting for a model with a combination of solid efficiency rates and value.

Ensure you select a model that meets the minimum efficiency requirements in your area. You can find this information by consulting your local building authority or through your government site, such as this heat pump resource.

It’s important to note that you may see HSPF ratings with different numbers tacked on the end. These numbers refer to the climate zone, so if it says HSPF5, it’s referring to Climate Zone 5. The efficiency ratings vary in each climate zone due to factors specific to the zone. Pay attention to the minimum requirements in your area and keep them in mind as you search for a heat pump for your home.

Style

Although style might not be a pressing concern for every homeowner, it doesn’t hurt to consider this aspect. The style factor isn’t as applicable for those who choose central heat pumps, as these units are larger and often sit tucked away.

However, if you decide on a mini-split heat pump in Canada, ensure you evaluate your style preferences, as these models feature an indoor unit that often rests on the wall or ceiling. Here are a few questions you might want to consider:

• Do you have room for a wall-mounted model?
• Do you mind the looks of a wall-mounted indoor head?
• Do you prefer floor-mount or ceiling-mounted, cassette-style indoor units?

Use your answers to sift through your options, removing unsuitable models from your list as you go. Of course, if this isn’t a concern for you, then skip this step altogether.

Location

Your location and local climate are a couple of the most important considerations when looking for a heating solution, as heat pumps aren’t suitable for every climate. To understand why, let’s look at how heat pumps operate.

These systems don’t produce their own heat like a furnace does. Instead, they move heat from one location to another. In the winter, they siphon heat from the outdoor air and escort it into your home. While it doesn’t seem possible to pull heat from the chilly outdoor air, most heat pumps can continue to do so until the temperatures dip below -10 degrees Celsius.

At this point, regular heat pumps stop working. However, cold-climate heat pumps are designed to withstand even colder temperatures and can continue functioning in temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius.

However, when the temperatures fall below -30, even cold-climate heat pumps cannot do their jobs. If it’s too cold, they cannot pull heat from the air, leaving your home susceptible to the biting cold.

Because of these parameters, considering the specifics of your local climate is essential. If your local area regularly experiences temperatures below -30 degrees Celsius in the winter months, a heat pump might not be the best choice for you.

In these cases, you might be better off with a different heat source that doesn’t rely on heat transfer from the outdoor air to warm your home. You may want to consider options such as an oil or gas furnace or a wood-burning stove. The best option for your home will hinge on the resources available in your area.

Of course, a heat pump might be a perfect option for your home if you live in a more temperate area or in a region of Canada where the lows aren’t constantly as low as -30 degrees Celsius.