Electrifying homes: America is ready for heat pumps as main cooling and heating solution

Las Vegas, Nevada / Watertown, Massachusetts – From the frigid temperatures in Alaska to the sunny beaches of Florida, you can find almost all climate zones in the United States. This climate diversity challenges HVAC manufacturers when it comes to developing systems that can perform in all weather conditions. The region is aiming to steadily expand its renewable energy sector¹ and accelerate the deployment of cold climate heat pump technology² - an efficient alternative to fuel-fired heating that also provides cooling.

“The barriers to using heat pumps for efficient heating and cooling in America have been substantially reduced thanks to advancements in technology. The conditions for electrifying homes in America are favorable, as already more than 17.7 million heat pumps are installed across the country and used for heating and cooling,” says Christian Fischer, the deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management who is responsible for the company’s Energy and Building Technology and Consumer Goods business sectors. The residential HVAC market is moving into a new era. Although there are still more AC-only units sold in the United States, the financial value of the heat pump market was already larger than for AC-only products in 2022 and is set to double by 2028, according to Bosch’s own market research. In 2020, almost half (45 percent) of new homes in the U.S. used electricity to heat, an increase of around 67 percent in comparison to 2000 (27 percent)³. Today, more than half of energy use in homes goes toward heating and cooling⁴. Home energy is a significant source of emissions in the United States. In an effort to reduce their personal carbon footprints⁵, an increasing number of Americans are transitioning to electric energy.

At CES 2024, Bosch is presenting its IDS Ultra cold climate heat pump system, which is designed to operate in colder climate zones, like regions in the Northern U.S. Heat pumps, since they are electric, can help homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint. “To decarbonize homes in the U.S. and Canada, it is key to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and conserve finite resources,” says Christian Fischer. “Our goal is to promote a more environmentally friendly lifestyle and we are proud to present state-of-the-art technology at CES 2024 which can contribute to tackling global warming,” he adds. “Bosch is making energy-efficient home heating and cooling accessible across almost all climate zones in the U.S., offering a promising step towards a cleaner energy future.”

Bosch survey: Homeowners care about cost and efficiency

A Bosch survey⁶ conducted in Canada and the U.S. found that awareness of heat pumps is near universal: 99 percent of homeowners have at least heard of heat pumps for heating and cooling. But the challenge in further adoption resides in the cold weather regions. More than a fifth of all respondents even currently own a heat pump, but heat pump ownership is very geographically uneven. The highest percentage of heat pump ownership is concentrated in the Southeast, in a region known for mild winters. In colder places like New England and the Upper Midwest, we see ownership rates 6 to 7 times lower. The few homeowners who do invest in a heat pump usually have to keep a backup system running, often powered by fossil fuels to take over when temperatures drop on cold winter days. In these regions, households tend to refrain from heat pumps due to the associated high energy costs and insufficient heating capacity in low ambient temperatures of traditional heat pumps. Switching to heat pumps comes with energy and cost saving advantages. This is good news for the nearly two-thirds of respondents to Bosch’s survey who cited cost and efficiency as their main concerns when it comes to heating and cooling their homes.

Bosch’s new heat pump fulfills almost all heating and cooling demands

Bosch’s latest heat pump technology now expands the reach of energy-efficient heating even into areas with extremely cold winters. “Our new IDS Ultra is the first Bosch air-to-air heat pump designed specifically for high efficiency heating in cold climates. The heat pump provides 100 percent heating capacity down to an outdoor temperature of 5° Fahrenheit (-15° Celsius) and will continue to operate even down to -13° Fahrenheit (-25° Celsius),” says Alexander Wuthnow, president and CEO of the Bosch Home Comfort Group in North America. “Thanks to advances in cold climate technology, our heat-pump provides heating even in sub-zero temperatures,” Wuthnow adds. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed that Bosch’s cold climate heat pump meets the requirements to progress from lab to field testing as part of the Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to advance the technology to allow consumers to make the switch to a cleaner energy future with less carbon emissions.

Consumer education is key to adoption of cold climate heat pumps

Heat pump technology has evolved to the point where reliable heating performance is now possible even in low temperatures. The next logical step is to make consumers aware of these advancements in energy-efficient home heating. According to Bosch research, there is significant opportunity to educate consumers on the full potential of heat pump technology as well as existing federal tax credits and state administered rebates available to help them make the transition. Professionals will play a key role when it comes to advising consumers, as over half of the respondents in Bosch’s survey reported using contractors and technicians as their main source of information.

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Sources
_{1 https://www.energy.gov/clean-energy
2 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE): https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/articles/residential-cold-climate-heat-pump-technology-challenge-fact-sheet.
3 U.S. Census Bureau (2020): https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/charted-home-heating-systems-in-the-u-s/.
4 https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/use-of-energy/homes.php.
5 This presumes that renewable energy is used.
6 In a geographically stratified survey Bosch has asked 1,526 homeowners across the United States and Canada [Status: November 2023].}