Trane Technologies Completes the DOE’s Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge

SWORDS, Ireland —
Trane Technologies announced its successful completion of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump (CCHP) Challenge for high-efficiency heating in extremely cold temperatures.

After surpassing DOE laboratory tests, the Trane high-efficiency, Cold Climate Heat Pump prototype, installed at a Boise, Idaho residence, successfully warmed the home for two winters by extracting heat from the air —
relying on its backup electric heat strip only 10% of the time. During field trials over two full summer and winter seasons of cooling and heating, the prototype delivered the homeowner 15-20% average energy bill savings.

“We were confident going into the Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge in our ability to deliver cutting-edge, highly-efficient climate control solutions – the results were outstanding and we’re proud of our performance,” said Dwayne Cowan, president, Residential HVAC, Trane Technologies. “Backed by our purpose-driven strategy and relentless investment in innovation, we are ready to continue scaling today’s technology for a sustainable tomorrow.”

“Our modeling was spot on with how the prototype functioned in the field, and we were thrilled to hear of the homeowner’s outstanding reviews as well as their energy savings,” said Katie Davis, vice president of engineering and technology, Residential HVAC, Trane Technologies. “We are excited to advance electrification of heating in homes while maintaining both comfort and efficiency for its occupants.”

Trane Technologies is one of the first companies to successfully complete the CCHP challenge. The company’s prototype has been relocated to its Tyler, Texas manufacturing facility, where it will continue to undergo robust performance evaluations at the site’s new state-of-the-art psychrometric testing labs —
used for new product development programs and capable of withstanding temperatures as low as negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit.

The company will complete the design for its new Trane residential Cold Climate Heat Pump, with additional comfort and efficiency enhancements, in 2025. The Cold Climate Heat Pump will be compatible with advanced, connected comfort solutions including Trane Link, enabling seamless integration with Trane’s comprehensive ecosystem of smart home technologies. Additionally, all heat pumps 15 SEER and higher in the company’s newly-announced residential portfolio meet the requirements for the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Tax Credit and incentives and rebates available through the Inflation Reduction Act – significantly reducing upfront costs and achieving long-term energy bill savings for homeowners.

Trane Technologies is advancing its 2030 Sustainability Commitments, including the Gigaton Challenge to reduce customer emissions by a billion metric tons and its pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company’s emissions reduction targets have been externally validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).