[RHSeeger]

> Despite the name, heat pumps do not generate heat – they move heat from one place to another.

Literally nothing about "pump" implies it generates heat. That being said...

> In colder climates, an electric heat strip can be added to the indoor fan coil for additional capabilities.

That would just be... electric heating, but with more steps? I mean, at that point you just have a heat pump _and_ electric heating; a hybrid system. It's better, sure, but it's not really just a heat pump anymore.

[jayofdoom]

In those hybrid systems, you only need the electric heating elements when the temperature outside is extremely cold. In the average winter season, my auxiliary heat, the electric furnace, runs less than a dozen times a year. The rest of it is all handled by the heat pump.

[voisin]

> when the temperature outside is extremely cold

Thanks to improving refrigerant technologies, the “extremely cold” threshold is getting lower and lower over time.

[nfriedly]

> That would just be... electric heating, but with more steps? I mean, at that point you just have a heat pump _and_ electric heating; a hybrid system. It's better, sure, but it's not really just a heat pump anymore.

I have a geothermal system (a ground-sourced heat pump) that also has electric resistive heating as a backup. I I've had to use it twice in the ~5 years I've lived in this house. The first time it was something like -15°f outside, so we just figured that was beyond what the system could handle. The second time, a year later, it wasn't quite as cold out and we had someone come look at it who found that it was low on refrigerant. (I've only been here 5 years, but the system was at least 15 years old.)

So, I've been happy it to have it there as a backup. From what I understand, it's also fairly straightforward and inexpensive to add to the system.