While it’s widely accepted heat pumps can keep homes warm in regions that don’t experience extreme cold, their performance in chilly parts of the world is frequently debated. That’s where the doubt comes in: if heat pumps have to work overtime to create energy, are they really better than other heating sources? Published Monday in the scientific journal Joule, the research found heat pumps are two to three times more efficient — or, use two to three times less energy — than their oil and gas counterparts, specifically in temperatures ranging from 10 C to -20 C. We've had our heat pump for 6 years now and it has performed as hoped down to -15C (as cold as it gets here)