A heat pump is a super-efficient, all-in-one electric heating and cooling system. Sometimes called mini-splits, they soak up heat from one place, then move it to another: Into your home in the winter, out of your home in the summer.

But what exactly makes a heat pump so efficient compared to a typical heating system? And if they work by soaking up heat, how can heat pumps keep your house warm when it’s cold outside? Is this too good to be true?

As millions of people who already own heat pumps can tell you, they’re legit. Here’s how the technology works.

High performance heat pumps can operate in temperatures well below zero, so why do they have a reputation for being impractical in extreme cold? 

Today, heat pumps serve as efficient, cost-effective heating systems everywhere from Maine to Alaska, but that wasn’t always the case. Before the technological advances that we see implemented in current cold climate heat pumps, heat pumps simply weren’t able to pull enough heat from outside when temperatures dropped to efficiently and effectively warm a home. But, gone are the days of heat pumps being limited to mild and warm climates. In this article, we explain how heat pumps work in extreme cold, when you should consider other technology, and where to find cold climate heat pumps. 

Heat pumps are an efficient way to both heat and cool your living space – simply put, they use electricity to move heat from one area to another to moderate the air temperature. Overall, heat pumps are able to provide 1.5 to 3 times the amount of electrical energy they consume in the form of heat energy for your home! Many different devices throughout your home use a similar closed loop mechanism that mirrors the functionality of heat pumps. In this article, we’ll explain what these devices are and how they work.