Heat pumps have become almost a household name recently, as homeowners and commercial real estate owners embrace the technology as a more environmentally friendly and cost-saving way to heat and cool spaces than traditional systems. It’s not a new concept; they work much in the same way as an air conditioner but can use the same process to heat and cool a space. Recent advances in technology, increased government incentives, and a raised awareness of the technology have brought heat pumps further into the mainstream. That is a positive development as heat pumps are expected to play a critical role in the decarbonization efforts being undertaken globally. The most recent breakthroughs tackle some of the major challenges to installing heat pumps, a development that could help turn persistent narratives about heat pumps not working in cold climates on their heads.

The enthusiasm for heat pumps in commercial real estate is not unwarranted: recent studies have found that these heating and cooling systems can lessen emissions associated with heating and cooling commercial buildings by up to 20 percent and offer significant long-term cost savings. Most do not rely on fossil fuels to operate, giving them a critically important role in the rapidly expanding number of net zero pledges that cities, states, and countries around the world have been making. Research by the World Green Building Council has found that 28 percent of global carbon emissions come from building operations, while 15 percent comes directly from heating and cooling buildings. Buildings will eventually need to run 100 percent on renewable energy in order to meet net zero goals, something that makes heat pumps even more attractive to building owners. 

One of the most common perceived downsides of heat pumps is that they do not work as well in cold climates. Historically, this has been true in some cases. Traditional air source heat pumps are less effective when temperatures dip below freezing, as they typically lose efficiency as temperatures drop near or below freezing. But over the last decade, as heat pumps became more popular, advances in engineering and technology have led to heat pumps that work in all climates. Maine, with its long, cold winters, has the highest adoption rate for heat pumps in the country. And the Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, and Finland have some of the highest adoption rates in the world. 

Cold climates often call for geothermal or ground source heat pump systems, which extract heat from the ground during cold weather using an underground pipe system ten feet below the surface. During the warmer months of the year, that process is reversed to provide cooling. Advances in technology have also meant more features and variability in heat pumps. These include things like variable-speed, inverter-driven compressor technology, and improved defrost-cycle controls, features that were previously not available to users. Research has even shown that heat pumps used in cold climates can work even in the most frigid temperatures.

Geothermal heat pump systems are already making waves in places like Brooklyn, New York, where two different multifamily projects powered by geothermal energy are currently in the works. Australian development firm Lendlease is behind 1 Java Street, a mixed-use residential project along the waterfront in the borough’s Greenpoint neighborhood. The development will have more than 800 units once completed, 30 percent of which will be designated affordable. Lendlease partnered with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to build its geo-exchange system that, once completed, will make the all-electric building the largest residential project in the state to use a geothermal heat exchange system. It’s expected to cut annual carbon emissions from heating and cooling by 53 percent compared to traditional systems. 

On the southern side of the borough of Coney Island, the two-tower waterfront development at 1515 Surf Avenue is nearing completion. It will have 139 affordable units and will feature the largest geothermal heating and cooling system in the city, according to project architect Studio V Architecture. Developed by LCOR, the underground wells that help power the geothermal system are expected to reduce the project’s carbon emissions by more than 60 percent. Projects like these in Brooklyn are especially important given the city’s landmark Local Law 97, which requires certain buildings to reduce their carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030, went into effect this year.

The newest offerings on the market include a heat pump from Bosch introduced earlier this year. The system is designed to heat buildings in cold climates up to 13 degrees below zero. Bosch has said its new heat pump system meets the requirements of the Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge, a program launched by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to help spur more advances in heat pump technology that will increase the adoption of cleaner energy systems. The goal is for manufacturers to create heat pumps that are able to deliver 100 percent of the heating needs for a building without having to rely on supplemental heat, even in sub-zero temperatures. The challenge kicked off in late 2021 with the product prototyping phase and ends this year with deployment programs. For homeowners, innovative cold climate heat pumps could save them $500 or more every year on utility bills while also significantly reducing carbon emissions, according to the DOE. 

Another innovative new heat pump system is being tested at Edinburgh University in Scotland. The new system was developed by a company affiliated with the university, SeaWarm, that uses water sources like oceans, rivers, ponds, and even water from mines to heat and cool residential and commercial buildings. These water source heat pumps take thermal energy that is stored in the bodies of water through a heat exchanger, which then transfers the thermal energy to the heat pump, where it is then compressed to higher temperatures appropriate for heating spaces. Currently, the university is testing the systems in a variety of buildings in Scotland, including an affordable housing project, a commercial greenhouse, and a gold-mining museum. One of the key components used in the SeaWarm systems is glycol, a liquid used as an antifreeze agent. The substance is able to absorb thermal energy from the water source as it circulates through tubing in the heat exchanger.

The momentum just continues to grow for heat pumps on a national and global scale. The latest advances in technology that focus on systems designed for cold climates could mean a huge boost to adoption rates, given the long-running perception of heat pumps being ineffective in colder weather. The impetus to adopt electric systems that significantly reduce carbon emissions is coming from rapidly expanding decarbonization mandates and, in many cases, from real estate companies’ and tenants’ own green goals. Just recently, nine states in the U.S. pledged to push heat pumps to make up 90 percent of sales for residential heating, air conditioning, and water heating sales by 2040. Even with the recent tech advances, it will likely still take some time for the reputation of heat pumps to change, and though awareness of the systems seems to be at an all-time high, the share of buildings using heat pumps in the U.S. is relatively low. But the newest innovations will certainly help the movement toward more heat pump adoption continue to expand around the country and the world.