Cold Climate Heat Pump Capacity
Cold Climate Heat Pump Capacity at 5F: MAX Heating BTU by Model
What a cold-climate heat pump actually puts out when it gets cold, per model, from the AHRI-certified NEEP ccASHP database. MAX heating capacity at any outdoor temperature, the maintained-% at 5F against both denominators, and a balance-point and backup-heat readout.
Capacity, Maintained-% & Balance Point
Pick a model and an outdoor temperature for its interpolated MAX heating capacity. Add your design heat load for the balance point and the backup heat you would need at design.
Intry VerifiedA worked default reading, traceable end to end: what it was calculated from, what it was run with, how it was checked, and who has final say.
Where this number comes fromIntry Verified
- Calculated from
- AHRI-certified NEEP ccASHP data (AHRI 211259279)
- Run with
- ModelMitsubishi P-Series Hyper-Heat (ducted)
- RefrigerantR-410A
- Outdoor temperature5 F
- Rated at 47F40,000 BTU/hr
- Checked
- Every figure an Intry calculator computes comes from a locked source module, not hand-typed. 23332 automated checks re-derive and source-check the numbers against the AHRI-certified NEEP ccASHP data it came from before each deploy. This is our own deterministic gate, not a third-party audit.
- Final say
- The manufacturer's engineering data or a Manual-J load calculation by an HVAC pro has final say.
Intry Verified · Build CAEE098 · 2026-08-24
Rated vs MAX, and Why 5F Is the Number
A heat pump is rated at 47F, but nobody runs backup heat at 47F. The number that decides whether a unit can carry a house through a cold snap is the MAX heating capacity at the design temperature, which for most of the country is at or near 5F. Manufacturers publish the 47F rating loudly and the cold-temperature number quietly, if at all, so this page pins every figure to the AHRI-certified NEEP record and always shows the MAX at 5F next to the rated 47F capacity. Below a model's lowest rated row the capacity is held, never extrapolated to a colder number the record does not support.
Every Percentage Carries Its Denominator
“Holds 96% at 5F” is meaningless without saying 96% of what. The Fujitsu AIRSTAGE XLTH (wall ductless) holds 23,200 BTU/hr at 5F. Against its rated 47F capacity of 24,000 that is 96.7%; against its MAX 47F capacity of 36,200 it is 64.1%. Same unit, same 5F output, two honest numbers. This page always publishes both source BTU figures and the chosen denominator. NEEP floors its stored percentage to a whole number; the computed ratio is what you see here.
Capacity by Model Line
The MAX capacity at 5F and the cold floor for each line, pinned to its AHRI certificate. Pick a line for its full curve and balance-point readout.
Mitsubishi P-Series Hyper-Heat (ducted)
38,000 BTU/hr at 5F (95% of rated), 30,400 at -13F.
R-410A ductedBosch IDS (ducted)
21,800 BTU/hr at 5F (63.7% of rated), 21,800 at 5F.
R-410A ductless wallFujitsu AIRSTAGE XLTH (wall ductless)
23,200 BTU/hr at 5F (96.7% of rated), 19,720 at -15F.
R-454B ductedCarrier Performance (ducted)
26,200 BTU/hr at 5F (82.4% of rated), 26,200 at 5F.
R-410A ductless wallDaikin Aurora (wall ductless)
21,600 BTU/hr at 5F (100% of rated), 21,600 at -13F.
R-32 ceiling ductedLG Ceiling / ducted (R-32)
36,000 BTU/hr at 5F (90% of rated), 30,000 at -13F.
R-32 ductedGree FLEXX (ducted, R-32)
25,000 BTU/hr at 5F (100% of rated), 18,000 at -22F.
R-410A ductedMRCOOL Universal (ducted DIY)
22,000 BTU/hr at 5F (91.7% of rated), 18,800 at -22F.
MAX Capacity at 5F Summary
| Model line | Rated 47F | MAX 5F | % of rated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi P-Series Hyper-Heat (ducted) | 40,000 | 38,000 | 95% |
| Mitsubishi M-Series H2i (single-zone ductless) | 19,000 | 19,000 | 100% |
| Mitsubishi Smart Multi H2i (multi-zone) | 54,000 | 47,000 | 87% |
| Bosch IDS (ducted) | 34,200 | 21,800 | 63.7% |
| Bosch IDS Premium | 24,000 | 16,800 | 70% |
| Fujitsu AIRSTAGE XLTH (wall ductless) | 24,000 | 23,200 | 96.7% |
| Carrier Performance (ducted) | 31,800 | 26,200 | 82.4% |
| Daikin Aurora (wall ductless) | 21,600 | 21,600 | 100% |
| LG Ceiling / ducted (R-32) | 40,000 | 36,000 | 90% |
| Gree FLEXX (ducted, R-32) | 25,000 | 25,000 | 100% |
| MRCOOL Universal (ducted DIY) | 24,000 | 22,000 | 91.7% |
Full chart with MAX at 17F, the cold floor, and COP: capacity-at-5F chart. The derived readout explained: balance point and backup heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much heating capacity does a heat pump lose at 5F?
It depends entirely on the model, which is why the per-model number matters. A dedicated cold-climate unit like the Mitsubishi P-Series Hyper-Heat (ducted) holds 38,000 BTU/hr at 5F, 95% of its 40,000 BTU/hr rated capacity at 47F. A mainstream unit falls off much harder. The MAX capacity at 5F is the number that answers "will it heat my house," and it is always shown here next to the rated 47F figure.
What is the difference between rated and MAX heating capacity?
Rated capacity is the AHRI-certified capacity at the 47F rating point. MAX capacity is the most the unit can put out at a given outdoor temperature when it ramps up. The "will it heat my house at 5F" answer is the MAX at 5F, so every capacity on this page is labeled RATED or MAX, and the MAX at 5F is shown alongside the rated 47F number so you see both.
Why does the same unit show two different maintained percentages?
Because a percentage means nothing without its denominator. The Fujitsu AIRSTAGE XLTH (wall ductless) holds 23,200 BTU/hr at 5F. Against its rated 47F capacity of 24,000 that is 96.7%; against its MAX 47F capacity of 36,200 it is 64.1%. Both are true. This page always publishes both source BTU numbers and the chosen denominator, never a bare percentage. NEEP floors its stored percentage to a whole number; the computed ratio is shown here.
What is a heat pump balance point?
The balance point is the outdoor temperature where the heat pump's declining MAX-capacity curve crosses your home's rising heat-loss load line. Above it the heat pump covers the whole load; below it you need backup heat. Enter your design heat load and design temperature in the calculator and it reports the balance point plus the backup heat needed at design, as a readout. For example, the Mitsubishi P-Series Hyper-Heat (ducted) against a 45,000 BTU/hr load at 5F balances at 14.3F and needs 7,000 BTU/hr (2.05 kW) of backup at design.
Where does this cold-climate capacity data come from?
Every capacity and COP figure is transcribed from the AHRI-certified NEEP cold-climate air-source heat pump (ccASHP) database, pinned to a specific AHRI certificate for each model, and confirmed against the manufacturer submittal. The interpolated capacity, the maintained percentages, and the balance-point readout are computed from those printed rated points. The manufacturer engineering data or a Manual-J load calculation by an HVAC pro has the final say.
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New: run this inside your AI assistant
Prefer to just ask? Add this to Claude, free.
Connect Intry to Claude once, then just say “use Intry to…” to run the cold-climate heat pump capacity calculator from a plain-English question, on your phone, on the job. You get the number, what it means, and the AHRI-certified NEEP ccASHP data it came from, computed live, not guessed. Works on every Claude plan.