Thermopompes : Un vent frais sur le chauffage

The report examines the potential for decarbonizing Canada's residential building sector by replacing central air conditioners with heat pumps. It identifies five primary barriers to adoption—lack of familiarity, the infrequent nature of HVAC replacement, short decision windows during emergencies, limited stock, and higher initial costs. The authors model a scenario where all new central air conditioners are replaced by heat pumps from 2025 to 2035, projecting a net benefit of 12.6 billion CAD, including 10.4 billion CAD in energy bill savings and a reduction of 19.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The document proposes several policy interventions, including national equipment regulations, updated building codes, and upstream incentives for distributors and manufacturers, while highlighting the importance of energy justice for low-income tenants and vulnerable populations.

• The building sector is the third largest source of emissions in Canada, accounting for 18% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, with space heating and cooling representing over 67% of building energy consumption.
• There is a significant gap between the installation of central air conditioners and heat pumps in Canada; in 2022, ten times more central air conditioners were purchased than heat pumps (36,000 heat pumps).
• Five major obstacles hinder the deployment of heat pumps: lack of familiarity, the exceptional nature of the purchase, short replacement timeframes (often during emergencies), limited stock availability, and higher initial installation costs.
• Replacing all new residential central air conditioners with heat pumps from 2025 to 2035 is estimated to generate a net benefit of 12.6 billion CAD, consisting of 10.4 billion CAD in energy bill savings and 5.9 billion CAD in climate benefits from emission reductions.
• The proposed market transformation would result in the installation of 5.4 million additional heat pumps and a reduction of 19.6 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent between 2025 and 2035.
• Heat pumps are significantly more efficient than other heating sources; a single-stage model produces 220% more thermal energy than it consumes in electricity, while cold-climate variable-speed models can reach 400% efficiency or more.
• Low-income households, tenants, and the elderly are most vulnerable to energy poverty and extreme heat, yet they often lack control over HVAC equipment choices, which are typically decided by landlords.
• The city of Vancouver provides a successful case study where a regulation requiring new residential HVAC systems to be low-carbon heat pumps led to a smooth transition and increased contractor capacity.
• The report suggests that the federal government could use the Energy Efficiency Act to mandate that all central air conditioners sold in Canada must also have heating capabilities.

APA

Gard-Murray, A., Haley, B., Miller, S., & Poirier, M. (2023). Thermopompes : Un vent frais sur le chauffage. Canadian Climate Institute. https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Thermopompes-un-vent-frais-sur-le-chauffage.pdf

Chicago

Gard-Murray, Alexander, Brendan Haley, Sarah Miller, and Mathieu Poirier. Thermopompes : Un vent frais sur le chauffage. Canadian Climate Institute, 2023. https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Thermopompes-un-vent-frais-sur-le-chauffage.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gard-Murray |first1=Alexander |last2=Haley |first2=Brendan |last3=Miller |first3=Sarah |last4=Poirier |first4=Mathieu |title=Thermopompes : Un vent frais sur le chauffage |publisher=Canadian Climate Institute |date=2023 |url=https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Thermopompes-un-vent-frais-sur-le-chauffage.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gardmurray2023thermopompes, author = {Gard-Murray, Alexander and Haley, Brendan and Miller, Sarah and Poirier, Mathieu}, title = {{Thermopompes : Un vent frais sur le chauffage}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2023}, url = {https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Thermopompes-un-vent-frais-sur-le-chauffage.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }