By installing a heat pump in his house in the hills of Oslo, Oyvind Solstad killed three birds with one stone, improving his comfort, finances and climate footprint.
Saving power for even a few extra months still saves money. You can have both a heat pump and a normal gas furnace. They aren't even that expensive. If you have a high heating bill, it could pay itself off in a few years.
I live in NC where a very cold day is +20F and I have to say I do not feel my heat pump keeps my house very warm. Maybe l just have a very high expectation of what a warm house feels like, but based purely on comfort I would not pick a heat pump. My house is only about 7 years old, so maybe the technology has improved since then?
I will say, it is unseasonably cold the last few days (40's) and my house is comfortably warm. But I cannot imagine going days sub freezing and the heat pump keeping up. But I am a spoiled American.
I am saying the heat pump struggles to keep up with the temp on the thermostat. It runs constantly and cannot maintain the ~70 we have the thermostat set too.
it’s just physics, and at sub-zero temperatures the air heat pump simply switches to electricity
it’s another matter if your pump uses the ground or a well, then of course it will work at any outside temperature