Switching from fossil fuel furnaces and boilers to heat pumps is a key strategy for reducing household carbon emissions. To maximize climate benefits, we need to minimize leakage of refrigerants, which are themselves potent greenhouse gases.

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In a recent article, I discussed several strategies for mitigating refrigerant impacts. One strategy is to use packaged, aka all-in-one (AIO) heat pumps, with factory-sealed refrigerant circuits. Packaged units generally contain less refrigerant and are less prone to leakage than split systems with field-installed piping. In this article, I&#;ll look more closely at one available packaged system, the Ephoca AIO Wall Mount Pro, which is attracting interest as a solution for electrifying multifamily buildings.

Cold-climate AIO heat pump

The Wall Mount Pro is manufactured in Italy by Innova SrL and sold in the U.S. under the Ephoca label. The unit is on the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership&#;s (NEEP) list of cold-climate heat pumps, where it is classified as a &#;single package vertical heat pump (SPVHP).&#; Although SPVHPs are superficially similar to the packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs) and packaged terminal heat pumps (PTHPs) often seen in hotels, there are important differences.

PTACs have uncased outdoor coils and slide into through-the-wall sleeves. In contrast, the Wall Mount Pro is enclosed in a cabinet that sits completely inside the living space and connects to the outdoors through a pair of openings.

While researching Ephoca products, I stumbled across a YouTube video featuring Evan Hallas, senior energy analyst at Taitem Engineering. Taitem is just a short walk from my house in Ithaca, and I&#;ve collaborated with its staff on several projects. I reached out to Hallas, who was kind enough to show me the system at Taitem and share his experiences with the product.

Hallas became interested in packaged heat pumps after reviewing&#;

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Additional reading:
Ultimate Guide to All in One Heat Pump Hot Water OEM

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The concept behind heat pumps is simple: powered by electricity, they move heat around to either cool or heat buildings. It&#;s not a new idea&#;they were invented in the s and have been used in homes since the s. But all of a sudden, they&#;ve become the hottest home appliance, shoved into the spotlight by the potential for cost savings and climate benefits, as well as by recent policy incentives. 

Simple though the basic idea may be, the details of how heat pumps work are fascinating. In the name of controlling your home&#;s temperature, this device can almost seem to break the laws of physics. Heat pumps are also getting better: new models are more efficient and better able to handle cold weather. 

So let&#;s dive in and uncover what makes a heat pump tick.  

How does a heat pump work?

At a high level, a heat pump gathers heat from one place and puts it in another place. We&#;ll mostly talk about heat pumps in the context of heating, but they can also be used for cooling, gathering heat from inside and sending it outside like an air conditioner. Many heat pumps can actually be run in reverse, either heating or cooling depending on what&#;s needed. 

The hero in a heat pump is the refrigerant: a fluid that moves in a circuit, soaking up and releasing heat as it goes. Electricity powers the system, pushing the refrigerant around the cycle. 

As the refrigerant moves through the heat pump, it&#;s compressed and expanded, switching between liquid and gas forms to allow it to gather and release heat at different points in the cycle. (If this is enough detail for you, feel free to skip to the next question. Otherwise, join me on a journey inside a heat pump to understand how this all works.)

INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Picture this: it&#;s a chilly winter day, say 25 °F (-5 °C). You&#;re sitting on the couch in your living room with a good book, and your cat is curled up nearby. You look over at the thermostat, which is set to 68 °F. Sensible, but a little chilly. You walk over and bump it up a bit, to 70 °F. 

Your heat pump has been quietly humming along in the background. Now it kicks things up a notch to raise the temperature: the fan and compressor inside speed up, and the refrigerant starts moving faster to transfer more heat from outside to inside.

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