Three different temperatures
People mix these up. They answer different questions.
| Name | What it is | A northern figure |
|---|---|---|
| Design temperature | The outdoor temperature a heating system is sized against. Yukon’s terms point at the 2.5% January value in NBC Table C-2, indoors at 22°C. | Whitehorse −41°C. Yellowknife −41°C. |
| Balance point | Outdoor temperature where heat pump capacity equals the house’s heat loss. Below it, backup is required. | Yukon dual-fuel rebate: −20°C or colder. |
| Listing test | The lab point NRCan uses to call a unit cold-climate. | −15°C, compared with rated capacity at 8.3°C. Not −40°C. |
Design temperatures: NRC climatic tables. Balance point rule: Yukon terms. Listing test: NRCan.
The cold-climate badge, in the actual numbers
To be added to NRCan’s cold-climate air-source list, a matched system has to clear every line below. The searchable list for Manitoba and Yukon is here. Yukon’s air-source rebates name that list. A brand reputation is not a row.
- HSPF2 of at least 6.6. A higher HSPF2 on a brochure is the milder-climate figure and is not this test.
- SEER2 of at least 15.2.
- Capacity maintenance of at least 70 percent: maximum heating capacity at −15°C, divided by rated heating capacity at 8.3°C (47°F).
- Coefficient of performance of at least 1.8 at −15°C, at maximum capacity.
- A variable-speed compressor. NRCan listing rules
Why a southern chart fails at −40
Catalog heating capacity is the 8.3°C number. A chart, or a rule of thumb, written for a design temperature of −10°C or −18°C is answering how much heat a house needs in a milder city, and how much of the machine’s mild-weather rating to buy. Whitehorse still has to be heated at −41°C. NRC tables
Using the 8.3°C capacity as if it were the −41°C capacity does two kinds of damage. It overstates what the heat pump will deliver on the design day, so the backup is undersized. And it treats a 70 percent capacity-maintenance score — the minimum to get onto the cold-climate list — as if that score had been measured at −40°C. It was measured at −15°C. A unit can pass the list and still be well below the house’s heat loss at the design temperature. That is expected. The Yukon dual-fuel rule stops at a −20°C balance point and requires oil, propane, or wood for the rest. Terms The capacity page writes out Daikin and Moovair matches that clear this list, using the row’s own HSPF2, COP, and capacity-maintenance figures. Those tables are examples of a pass. They are not a heat loss.
What a real sizing uses
NRCan says to keep a professional, and to determine heating and cooling loads with a recognized method such as CSA F280-12, “Determining the Required Capacity of Residential Space Heating and Cooling Appliances.” The load depends on climate, the envelope, and whether the goal is to carry the design load or to displace heat for part of the year. NRCan publishes a sizing guide and a companion tool for designers and energy advisors. NRCan Toolkit
Square footage is an input. It is not the method. The calculator on this site is a screening band with its watts-per-square-foot assumptions printed on the page. It is not CSA F280, and it is not a quote.
Related pages
- 01 Overview
What a cold-climate heat pump is, and what this guide will and will not claim.
- 02 Dual-fuel heat pumps
How a heat pump shares a house with wood, propane, or oil, and when that split is the point.
- 03 Dependable Grid rebate
Dual fuel and the other Dependable Grid amounts, from the September 3, 2026 terms.
- 04 Good Energy rebate
The other heat pump rebate: 50 percent up to $10,500 on an existing home, $1,500 on a new one.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below. If a later official update conflicts, the official update wins.
- NRC climatic design data
Whitehorse January 2.5% −41°C and 1% −43°C. Yellowknife January 2.5% −41°C and 1% −44°C.
- Heating and cooling with a heat pump
NRCan. Balance point, and the instruction to size with CSA F280-12.
- How products are listed
HSPF2 at least 6.6, SEER2 at least 15.2, capacity maintenance at least 70 percent, COP at least 1.8 at −15°C, variable-speed compressor.
- NRCan list for Manitoba and Yukon
The searchable list Yukon’s air-source rebates name. A brochure is not a row on this list.
- ASHP sizing and selection toolkit
NRCan’s tool for designers. Not a homeowner square-footage chart.
- Yukon energy incentive terms (PDF)
Whole-building sizing and a balance point of −20°C or colder. Indoor 22°C at the NBC 2.5% January design temperature is how the terms define a primary system.