Heat Pumps Guides

Cold-climate models do. They keep producing heat well below zero; Mitsubishi, for example, rates its Hyper-Heat units to run down to -13°F. Their capacity drops as it gets colder, so most Minnesota installs keep a backup: a gas or propane furnace (dual fuel) or electric heat. The heat pump carries fall, spring and milder winter days, and the backup covers the coldest nights. More in our cold-climate guide.

It's a heat pump paired with a gas or propane furnace. The heat pump heats the house until the outdoor temperature drops below a switchover point set at install, then the furnace takes over. In summer the heat pump is your air conditioner. It's a common way to add a heat pump to a home that already has a good furnace, and it keeps a flame-fired backup for the coldest weeks. See our dual-fuel guide.

It can, especially outside town gas lines where propane is the main heat. A heat pump covers much of the heating season on electricity, and the propane furnace only runs in the deep cold. How much you save depends on what you pay for propane and electricity, and on whether your electric co-op offers a special rate for heat pumps or dual fuel. See propane to heat pump.

It's probably in defrost. Frost builds up on the outdoor coil in cold weather, and every so often the heat pump reverses for a few minutes to melt it off. The outdoor fan stops, steam rises off the unit, and backup heat usually comes on inside to cover the gap. That's normal. A unit that stays coated in ice and never clears is not. See heat pump defrost.

Installed, ductless mini-splits run $4,200–$12,500 with us. A single-zone system for one room sits toward the low end; a multi-zone system with several indoor heads sits toward the top. They fit additions, three-season porches being turned into year-round rooms, bedrooms over a garage, and older homes heated by a boiler with no ductwork for air conditioning. More on our mini-split page.

Usually one head per room or open area you want to heat and cool. A big open main floor might need one or two heads; closed-off bedrooms each need their own, because a head can't push air around corners and down hallways well. One outdoor unit can feed several heads, but separate single-zone systems are sometimes the better choice. See our multi-zone layout guide.