Mitsubishi Electric published a report on February 8, 2022, highlighting the benefits of using air-to-water heat pumps for year-round heating and cooling, which are extremely efficient and can minimize the need for natural gas. Intertek evaluated the performance of Mitsubishi Electric’s air-to-water heat pumps in 3 typical buildings located in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal with different climates, and confirmed that energy savings and carbon emission reduction can be achieved with a heat pump in various cold climates. The report also noted that a natural gas boiler was needed to supplement the building’s heating needs only on extremely cold days, and that having an electric heat pump with a supplementary natural gas boiler provides energy diversity and redundancy, ensuring a reliable heating source in case any system goes off grid.

Keywords: Climate Change, Energy Efficiency/Management, HVAC & Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), Intelligent Building, Natural Gas, heat pump, Mitsubishi Electric, Intertek, air-to-water