Heat Pumps 101: How One Alberta Home Went Fully Electric (Case Study)

🌡️ Introduction: Heating a Prairie Winter with Modern Technology

Here in Alberta, the idea of heating your home without natural gas has long seemed impossible. Temperatures regularly dip below -30°C, furnaces roar all winter, and electric heat was once considered too costly or inefficient.

But as technology evolves, that perception is changing fast. Today, modern heat pumps — even in frigid climates like Edmonton — can deliver reliable, efficient comfort all year round.

This case study walks through a real-world example from Intricate Renewables’ own engineering team — where one of our senior engineers fully electrified his home using an air-to-water heat pump system.

The results? Impressive efficiency, remarkable comfort, and valuable lessons for homeowners considering a similar path.

⚙️ What Exactly Is a Heat Pump?

Before we dive into the project, let’s cover the basics.

A heat pump doesn’t create heat — it moves it. Think of it like a refrigerator working in reverse. In winter, it extracts heat from the air outside and transfers it indoors; in summer, it reverses the process to cool your home.

Unlike a traditional furnace that burns fuel, a heat pump uses electricity and refrigerant to shuttle heat around. Because it moves existing heat rather than creating it from combustion, it can achieve efficiencies of 250–400%, meaning you get 2–4 units of heat for every unit of electricity used.

🏠 The Edmonton Project: Fully Electrified, 100A Panel

After two years of design and planning, our engineer completed the installation of an air-to-water (A2W) monobloc heat pump in his Edmonton home — one of the coldest major cities in Canada.

He even removed the natural gas meter entirely, making the home fully electric — powered by solar PV and designed for long-term performance under real Alberta conditions.

All of this was done on a standard 100A electrical panel that also supports an EV charger. The only building upgrade was modest air sealing — no major envelope renovation required.

If that sounds too good to be true for a -35°C climate, that’s exactly why this case study matters.

🧊 Why Air-to-Water?

Air-to-air heat pumps are generally the go-to solution for most homes — they’re cost-effective and integrate easily with existing ductwork. But this project took a more advanced route: air-to-water hydronic heating.

Here’s why:

1. DIY-Friendly and Cost-Competitive
   The A2W monobloc design contains the refrigerant loop entirely within the outdoor unit — meaning no specialized HVAC refrigeration work was needed.

   This let our engineer handle the install himself, saving enough to make it comparable to a professionally installed air-to-air system (~$23,000).

2. Larger Capacity, Better Load Matching
   Using a 5-ton heat pump (instead of a typical 3-ton) meant more heating power — even at extreme cold.
   Even at -30°C, the system still provides about 90% of the home’s heating load, with only minimal electric backup required.

3. Integrated Domestic Hot Water (DHW)
   The system uses the same heat pump to preheat domestic hot water via a buffer tank, before topping up with a standard electric water heater.
   This approach avoids the reliability issues seen in some air-source heat pump water heaters and achieves higher overall COPs (efficiency) year-round.

4. Superior Comfort and Control
   The home’s old 110,000 BTU furnace was three times oversized for its actual needs, leading to short cycling and uneven heat.
   The new hydronic system continuously modulates flow and fan speed with a variable frequency drive (VFD) fan coil — keeping every room within 0.5°C of target temperature (previously 3–4°C swings).

5. Future-Proof Flexibility
   Because hydronic systems use PEX piping instead of ductwork, it’s easy to add new heating zones — like a garage coil or basement loop — without major construction.

6. Load Shifting and Smart Energy Use
   The heat pump’s buffer tank acts as a thermal battery. In the future, when Alberta introduces time-of-use (TOU) rates, the system can heat water during cheap or sunny hours (using solar) and discharge warmth later when power is expensive.

In short: this system isn’t just efficient — it’s intelligent.

🧠 Monitoring and Data Collection

True to engineer form, this system isn’t just “set and forget.”

A Raspberry Pi is connected to the heat pump’s control interface, continuously logging temperature, performance, and energy data into a custom Node-RED / InfluxDB / Grafana dashboard.

This real-time insight allows for:

• Fine-tuning temperature setpoints and flow rates.

• Tracking system performance through all seasons.

• Calculating actual COPs and load profiles over time.

In the coming year, this data will show how a properly designed A2W heat pump performs in real-world Alberta conditions — something most manufacturers and installers rarely publish.

🌍 What This Means for Alberta Homeowners

Heat pumps aren’t new — but their viability in cold climates is.
Thanks to modern inverter-driven compressors and refrigerants, today’s cold-climate heat pumps work efficiently down to -30°C and below.

Here’s why homeowners should pay attention:

• Energy Independence – Reduce your dependence on natural gas and shield yourself from rising utility costs.

• Lower Carbon Footprint – Fully electric homes can be powered by renewables, drastically cutting emissions.

• All-in-One Comfort – Heating, cooling, and hot water can all come from one integrated system.

• Smart Savings Ahead – As time-of-use billing and carbon pricing expand, flexible heat pumps will help homeowners control costs and earn value from their own PV generation.

Heat pumps are no longer just “green tech” — they’re becoming the most practical way to heat and cool Alberta homes.

🧭 How Intricate Renewables Helps

At Intricate Renewables, we believe electrification is the next frontier of home energy. Our role is to make it approachable, engineered, and right-sized for every property.

Here’s how we do it:

• Engineered for Alberta: All systems are designed by Professional Engineers (P.Eng.) with real cold-climate performance in mind.

• Integrated Design: We can combine solar PV, battery storage, and heat pumps into one intelligent system.

• Energy Modeling: Every installation starts with a detailed load calculation — not guesswork — to ensure proper sizing and comfort.

• Education First: We help you understand your options — from air-to-air to air-to-water to hybrid setups — so you can make informed choices.

Our mission is simple: to help Albertans electrify confidently, efficiently, and intelligently.

🔋 The Takeaway

This Edmonton case study shows that even in one of Canada’s harshest climates, air-to-water heat pumps are not only possible — they’re practical.

By carefully engineering the system, optimizing the controls, and integrating it with smart data monitoring, this home now runs fully electric with year-round comfort and no fossil fuels.

For most homes, an air-to-air heat pump may remain the most economical choice — but this project proves that with the right design, Alberta is ready for full electrification.

At Intricate Renewables, we’re leading that transition — one engineered home at a time. Curious if this setup can work for your home? Click here to GO SOLAR with Intricate Renewables today or contact us to find out more about our comprehensive home electrification solutions.