Why This Window Heat Pump Is Genius

Well, there’s a new type of heat pump hitting the market that’s a little more accessible: easy to install heat pumps that sit on your window just like an AC unit. It seems so obvious when you look at it that I can’t help but wonder…why didn’t we do this earlier?  And how well do they actually work and at what cost?

Video script and citations:

Get my achieve energy security with solar guide:

Follow-up podcast:

Join the Undecided Discord server:

👋 Support Undecided on Patreon!

⚙️ Gear & Products I Like

Visit my Energysage Portal (US):
Research solar panels and get quotes for free!

And find heat pump installers near you (US):

Or find community solar near you (US):

For a curated solar buying experience (Canada)
EnergyPal's free personalized quotes:

Tesla Referral Code:
Get 1,000 free supercharging miles
or a discount on Tesla Solar & Powerwalls

👉 Follow Me
Mastodon

X

Mastodon

Instagram

Facebook

Website

📺 YouTube Tools I Recommend
Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound

TubeBuddy

VidIQ

I may earn a small commission for my endorsement or recommendation to products or services linked above, but I wouldn't put them here if I didn't like them. Your purchase helps support the channel and the videos I produce. Thank you.

00:00 - Intro
02:22 - The New Heat Pumps
04:17 - What's Hitting the Market?
04:42 - Midea
07:13 - Gradient
08:40 - Pros & Cons

[El-Burro-Grande]

Those prices are ridiculous. 90% of a heat pump is a traditional air conditioner, with a reversing valve added. I bought a 12K BTU Midea window air conditioner last year for $499 - similar saddle design - and it is efficient as hell. No way converting that to a heat pump justifies a 600% increase in cost/price. These companies smell government subsidies and are inflating their prices accordingly. I call bull$#!t. Same damned problem in solar. Kill the taxpayer-funded rebates/incentives and watch prices plummet accordingly.

[roguea]

I don't understand why these would be so much more expensive. $3000 for an AC that can run in reverse? Isn't it just a couple extra valves and a tad more electronics? I could see $1000; but, 3x that amount feels like it's priced high just to eat federal subsidies.

[markczarnecki]

As a guy who installs and uninstalls about 20 window ACs per year, I like how these effortlessly float themselves into place during installation. Easy on the back is nice.

[TheBitGuy]

I was drooling for this un until you mentioned the price.. then I was like "what?!" I already have the Midea-U 12, 000 BTU and I think I paid $496 on Amazon. Adding the reversing valve and a few other components should not make the unit cost $3, 000. That's insane. I'd probably buy one or two of them if the cost were under $600 a piece.

[mrsideshowjack]

12:53 trust me, in Tokyo heatpumps are the standard already, nearly all apartments come with at least 1, they are renter friendly as apartments are designed with slots for them to add them if they were not included. and the typical mini split heat pump is around $500
my apartment has 2, one for each room

[snowballeffect]

That price is patently ridiculous. It shouldn't cost 10x more just to have a heat pump be bi-directional lol.

[sephiroth]

In Europe, in buildings with central heating, we install special radiator valves that stop the water flow when a specific temperature is reached, and each tenant pays only for what they use.

Heat pumps are definitely better, but the problem of some apartments being too hot was solved a couple of decades ago.

[leax_Flame]

It took 4 years for me to pay off the cost of the Heat pump system for my home. It has lowered my electric costs by an average of $120/month, and I still have 6 years of my 100% parts and labor warranty left.
I know it's a large upfront cost, but wow those things are great. Glad to see that they are expanding these to more situations. For reference my electric costs $0.12/KWH.

[MyWasteOfTime]

$3000 is crazy, the 12, 000 BTU Midea U-Shaped is only $500. You are telling me it costs $2500 to add heat?

[robinmoussu]

This looked so much like an add. No questions about the efficiency loss of the insulation of the window by that presence of the AC unit. Only a price comparison against non-reversible AC unit. That being said the comparison against replacing the building heat source by a more efficient one was welcome.

[Miata]

Several years ago I picked up a Midea U-shaped window air conditioner and was Very impressed with it's efficiency and its practical design. I spent a career designing air conditioners and wish I had thought up this clever form factor myself.

[matthewweaver]

If they want to be realistic about being "environmentally friendly" with these, then someone is going to need to design one from the ground up that has serviceability in mind. Even the best compressors have a finite lifespan. Replacing several hundred boiler and chiller systems that are designed to be serviceable vs tens of thousands of units that are more or less disposable is not "environmentally friendly" when looking at the big picture.

[mak]

Wait...$3K?!? A 12K BTU minisplit WITH installation is $1500 in Arizona, and it is 20 SHEER. If I were a landlord, I would put a whole bunch of them on the roof where I can centralize the electricity and connections and just run lines down the outside of the building to each apartment, which...is what they do here in three and four storied buildings. I see the potential, and the utility of these units, but...$3K?!?

[rosewoodsteel]

Heat pumps are great for those of us who don't like "toasty" heat in the cold winter. If you don't mind air blowing on you that feels cool, but eventually warms up a room, this my friend, is for you!

[Brando]

Wow, these things are pretty neat. I lived in Hoboken, Jersey City, Manhattan and Brooklyn so I know the pain as well. I would have loved to have one of these units when I lived in the area.

In NYC, even though I had permanently installed passthrough AC units my electric bill would be around $300-$350 in July and August (I also ran a home media server, but most of my energy expenditure went into keeping my apartment comfortable since I WFH). Due to poor insulation it would still be very humid inside (60%+ ) even though it was in the low 70s. We'd frequently get mass text messages from the electric company during heat waves to tell us to limit our AC and general electricity usage because we risk causing a blackout! They seem to be more efficient than window ACs, but the problem also is that the insulation and energy efficiency of the buildings themselves suck.

I moved to Miami about 9 months ago and live in a building that is maybe 20-30 years old now and has central air/heat that I control. The worst its gotten in here was 67% humidity and 76F and that was when I came back yesterday after not having the HVAC system on for 5 days, while having my server running. I generally keep it around 72-74F and it stays around 55% humidity in here. Even with the server running and me being home all the time, it costs me about $100/month.

[xungnham]

Midea already sells a window unit heat pump, 8000 BTU (MAW08HV1CWT) for $380 and 12000 (MAW12HV1CWT) BTU for $500 on amazon. It doesn't make any sense for them to introduce a $3000 unit. Anyone with sales or marketing experience could tell you that price point is going to be a failure.

[void]

Until they change the form factor, many renters can't use them. Anyone with a bare coil radiator right under the window (very common in NYC) can't have anything hanging below the window on the inside of the apartment.
Also many older units in NYC have abnormally wide windows (40-44" compared to the average of 32-36" that window units are designed for) due to being old enough that wider windows for more airflow was the cooling solution, and most current ACs simply will not fit without custom work, so the heatpumps may similarly not actually be self-installable.
Additionally, why are these so expensive? Heat pumps are just a few more valves than ACs. I could see $1000 for the fancy form factor, but when the average AC in the 8000BTU range is $350, $3000 if a ludicrous markup.

[danlindy]

I haven’t determined whether $3k is a reasonable price for performance, but in combination with existing solar + battery, these seem like an excellent long-term solution for cutting heating fuel and grid electricity costs. I look forward to battery improvements and all-around efficiency gains that can eliminate the need to pay for energy entirely. To that end, these window units are a positive step along the way.

[littlefreak]

The point on "common denominator" heating is a little miss leading. Some of these water pump systems have thermostatic valves in each room so the water just doesn't circulate in the rooms that are already at temperature. I'm sure this is not all but I would hope most of these style of heating system have something similar in them. They could probably be retrofitted as all.

[spoddie]

Nice of you to be concerned with us, but every home in Tokyo has a heat pump - I have two. The wall mountings, electrical supply, ducts, and supports for the external unit are standardized and built into every house and apartment.