An HVAC installer appeared in a YouTube video to dispel a recurring myth: that modern heat pumps aren't up to the task of warming homes in cold-climate states. 

On the This Old House (@thisoldhouse) channel, expert Joel Schaperjahn and host Richard Trethewey show a modern heat pump air handler that is being installed in an upstate New York home to replace an outdated furnace. 

Rather than generating heat directly using electricity or fossil fuels, heat pumps use a refrigeration cycle and a compressor to pull heat from the air and move it indoors. Because they rely on extracting heat from the surrounding air, some people question whether they can perform effectively in frigid winter climates.

"Can this handle how cold it gets here in upstate New York?" Trethewey asked. 

"It actually can," Schaperjahn explained. "These units are designed to handle about minus-10 degrees Fahrenheit and still maintain about full heating capacity." 

In fact, modern winter-rated units, such as heat pumps, can operate at 90% of their heating capacity at minus-13 degrees Fahrenheit. If you're curious about how efficient a heat pump can be in your area, EnergySage has free tools to help you get the best system for your home and budget. 

"It's really almost hard to believe," Trethewey said. 

Although heat pump technology has been around for decades, it has only recently caught on in the U.S. With more and more homeowners feeling the pressure of rising utility costs, heat pumps offer an ultra-efficient solution to curb expensive monthly energy bills. 

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, heating and cooling account for around 45% of annual energy costs. Even a modest improvement of your HVAC's efficiency can seriously add up in terms of annual bill savings. 

One Harvard study discovered that upgrading to a heat pump could save homeowners as much as $3,000 a year, depending on their situation. 

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Technological improvements have made the systems even more efficient in colder states. Under the video, commenters added how heat pumps have reshaped their heating and cooling systems. 

"After my HVAC caught on fire and nearly burnt down the house I … installed two heat pumps," one user wrote. "It's amazing how quiet and efficient it is for either heating or cooling. Hard to imagine that we used to have those hurricane sounding blowers. It sounded like an airplane was taking off when it fired up."

"[I] have used heat pumps in my houses here in Northern Virginia since 1978," another added. "The new cold climate heat pumps are vastly improved over the old ones."

Wherever you live, upgrading from a conventional furnace to a modern heat pump could help you save big. However, finding the right installer is important to ensuring you get the right system for your needs. 

Luckily, there are free tools available to make the upgrade process simple. EnergySage can help connect you with a network of vetted installers to find an efficient system at a good price.

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