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Climate Solutions

Heat pumps used to struggle in the cold. Not anymore.

Some cold climate heat pumps can be more than 100 percent efficient even in subzero temperatures.

5 min
A woman walks past her electric heat pump around the outside of her home in Freeport, Maine. Heat pumps can help save money on heating as compared with other HVAC options. (Tristan Spinski for The Washington Post)
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Think heat pumps can only work in warmer climates? Think again, experts say.

The electric heating and cooling systems have historically been more common in warmer areas because earlier models didn’t work as well in freezing conditions. But major companies have been developing models that can work efficiently at much lower temperatures.