What Is Heat Pump COP? A Simple Guide for Canadian Winters

Heat pump COP (coefficient of performance) tells you how much heat a heat pump delivers for each unit of electricity it uses. A COP of 3 means you get about 3 kWh of heat from 1 kWh of electricity. The higher the number, the less electricity you pay for to heat your home.

The catch in Canada is that COP isn’t fixed. It drops as the outdoor air gets colder. So the most useful question isn’t “What is this heat pump’s COP?” It’s “What is its COP on a cold January night where I live?”

What does heat pump COP mean?

A heat pump doesn’t create heat by burning fuel. It moves heat from the outdoor air into your home. Because moving heat takes less energy than making it, a heat pump can deliver more heat than the electricity it uses.

The formula is simple:

COP = heat delivered ÷ electricity used

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) gives the same example: a heat pump that uses 1 kW of electricity to move 3 kW of heat has a COP of 3. See NRCan’s guide to heating and cooling with a heat pump.

Heating type	Approximate heat per 1 kWh of energy used	What it means
Electric baseboard	About 1 kWh	COP of 1: every unit of electricity becomes one unit of heat
Heat pump with a COP of 2	About 2 kWh	Half the electricity of baseboards for the same heat
Heat pump with a COP of 3	About 3 kWh	One-third of the electricity of baseboards for the same heat

Gas furnaces are rated differently. They use annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE), a percentage. A 95% AFUE furnace turns about 95% of its fuel energy into useful heat. Because one rating is based on electricity and the other on fuel, compare running costs using your local rates rather than comparing the numbers directly. Our heat pump vs furnace guide walks through that comparison.

Why COP drops when it gets colder

The colder it is outside, the harder the heat pump has to work to pull heat out of the air. NRCan reports that air-source heat pumps typically have a COP of 2.0 to 5.4 at 8°C, falling to 1.1 to 3.7 at −8°C. The exact figure depends on the model and the conditions.

In practice, this means:

• In spring and fall, most heat pumps run very efficiently.
• On the coldest days, efficiency drops and the heat pump may also produce less heat.
• Many Canadian homes use a backup heat source, such as electric elements or an existing furnace, for the coldest hours. NRCan notes that some air-source units stop operating between −15°C and −25°C, while cold-climate models are designed to keep going.

This is why a single COP number on a brochure isn’t enough. Ask for the COP at several outdoor temperatures, especially the coldest ones for your area.

What is a good heat pump COP in Canada?

There is no single “good” number for every home. One useful benchmark is NRCan’s criteria for listing cold-climate air-source heat pumps under the Canada Greener Homes Initiative. As of July 2026, a cold-climate model must have:

• a COP of at least 1.8 at −15°C at maximum capacity
• at least 70% of its rated heating capacity at −15°C, compared with 8.3°C
• a variable-speed compressor (continuously variable, or three or more speeds)
• efficiency ratings of HSPF2 (Region V) ≥ 6.6 and SEER2 ≥ 15.2

Read NRCan’s product criteria.

A heat pump that meets these criteria is designed to keep working efficiently in a typical Canadian winter. If you live somewhere with very cold winters, ask how the model performs below −15°C too.

COP, HSPF and SEER: which rating to use when

You’ll see three ratings on most spec sheets:

Rating	What it measures	When it’s useful
COP	Heating efficiency at one outdoor temperature	Checking cold-weather performance
HSPF / HSPF2	Average heating efficiency over a whole season	Comparing overall heating efficiency
SEER / SEER2	Average cooling efficiency over a summer	Comparing air-conditioning efficiency

Look at COP and HSPF2 together: one shows performance on a cold day, the other across the whole winter. Our HSPF vs COP guide explains the difference in more detail.

How to check a heat pump’s COP before you buy

1. Get the exact model numbers. The indoor and outdoor units are rated as a matched pair, so ask your installer for both model numbers.
2. Look up the ratings. Check NRCan’s list of ENERGY STAR certified air-source heat pumps.
3. Ask for the cold-weather data. Ask for heating capacity and COP at −15°C and at your area’s coldest typical temperatures.
4. Make sure the unit is sized correctly. Even a high-COP unit will lean on backup heat if it’s too small for your home. Read our heat pump sizing guide.
5. Check incentives. Programs change often. Use NRCan’s directory of provincial and territorial incentives to see what’s available where you live.

The bottom line

Heat pump COP is the simplest way to see how efficiently a heat pump turns electricity into heat. Compare COP at cold temperatures rather than mild ones, pair it with HSPF2 for the season as a whole, and make sure the system is sized for your home. Start with your postal code to see heat pump options and installers in your area.

Frequently asked questions