The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is about halfway through its Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge (CCHPTC), a program designed to help manufacturers speed the development of the next generation of heat pumps and ensure that they will perform reliably during chilly winters in North America. The challenge is for electric, centrally ducted residential heat pumps of between 24,000 and 65,000 Btuh. There are two segments of the challenge – one for heat pumps that work in temperatures down to 5°F, the other for temps down to -15°. Ten HVAC manufacturers are participating in the challenge; some heat pump models were deployed last winter during an initial phase of field testing, while others are in various stages of laboratory testing. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) are also partners in the challenge, and number of utilities and energy cooperatives as well as state agencies in Northern states from Alaska to Maine are supporting it.

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