Rheem’s new air-source heat pump has passed the US Department of Energy's Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge. The US-based heating specialist released the Endeavor Prestige series in March. It reportedly has a heating performance factor (HSPF2) of up to 8.5 and a coefficient of performance (COP) of between 1.5 and 2.0 at -8 C.
“We were not surprised that our team of dedicated, innovative engineers at Rheem developed a residential heat pump that was able to provide 77% of nominal heating capacity at −26 C ambient temperature and provided uninterrupted heating operation at −30.5 C ambient temperature surpassing expectations and delivering top quality performance,” said Jeff Goss, director of product management for Rheem.
The new cold climate heat pump reportedly delivered a 5% higher COP during heating under -15 C ambient temperatures than the challenge specification. Rheem said the unit also performed at a 9% higher HSPF2 than the challenge specification.
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The Endeavor Prestige heat pump has a heating capacity between 7.03 kW and 17.58 kW. The smallest model measures 1,147 mm x 918 mm x 918 mm, while the largest measures 1,300 mm x 918 mm x 918 mm x 918 mm. It uses R-410a as the refrigerant and it operates at 59 dBA to 73 dBA.
US-based Carrier and Johnson Controls, as well as Ireland-based Trane Technologies, have also developed prototypes for the field-testing phase of the Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge. Lennox was the first manufacturer to pass the Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge in June 2022.
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The question is whether the price premium these will carry will be able to be made up in the average lifetime of the unit or warranty over the less capable units.
Great to see cold temp HP’s improve.
Sad that the refrigerant is an HFC though given that r410a is on the hit list of the Kigali amendment phase out.
Surely it’s time to start using low GWP refrigerants?
Propene is being successfully used as the refrigerant in a growing number if sir source heat pumps capable of cold temperature performance.
Excellent, now it is only two to three times more expensive to run than natural gas in my state. And of course we still have the sizing problem when it has to run as both a heating unit and an a/c.
That’s the premium we have to pay if we are to leave an inhabitable world for our grandchildren