All-around best heat pumps by size

Heat pumps that are good at everything, ranked against units their size: half the score is heating (how much heat they keep at 5°F, how efficient they are at 5°F and over a winter), half is cooling (seasonal and hot-day efficiency).

Covers heat pumps sold new today (R-454B and R-32 refrigerant). See older R-410A models · Updated Oct 10, 2026

Showing Ducted, 2.5–3 tons (27,000–38,999 Btu/h cooling), the most-listed ducted size. Pick yours above. What size is my system?

All-around best, ducted 2.5–3 tons

Balances heating (5°F output and efficiency, HSPF2) and cooling (SEER2, EER2), each rating against units their size.

1,896 of 2,185 models in this size class have all five ratings.

1SL22KLV-036-230A**with ducted air handler CBK48MVT-060-230-Lennox3 tons · 35,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.4Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
102% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.42 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
10.5 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
20.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.0score / 100Heating 93 · Cooling 97
2PUZ-AK30NLHZ2***with ducted air handler PVA-AA30NLMitsubishi Electric2.5 tons · 30,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 88.7Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
100% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.30 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.1 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
93.9score / 100Heating 89 · Cooling 99
3RD18AY36AJVCwith ducted air handler L(E,G)M36FJRheem2.5 tons · 30,800 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 94.4Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
109% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.86 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
19.0 (SEER2)
Great
Hot-day cooling
13.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
92.7score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 91
4YPAS30BUFASDQ1with ducted air handler YPPIMB30UFA1DQYork2.5 tons · 30,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 87.0Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
99% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.10 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
19.6 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
91.1score / 100Heating 87 · Cooling 95
5YPAS36BUFASDQ1with ducted air handler YPPIMB36UFA1DQYork3 tons · 36,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 86.8Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
92% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.20 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.6 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
19.6 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.8 (EER2)
Top 10%
90.5score / 100Heating 87 · Cooling 94
6PUZ-AK30NLHZ***with ducted air handler PVA-AA30NLMitsubishi Electric2.5 tons · 30,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 81.1Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
94% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.30 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
9.3 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
90.0score / 100Heating 81 · Cooling 99
7KUMXA361ALG3 tons · 36,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 87.1Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
100% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.25 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
19.0 (SEER2)
Great
Hot-day cooling
13.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
89.3score / 100Heating 87 · Cooling 92
8DH9VSA361CA*with ducted air handler CAHEA3630C3A*+MBVK16CH*X00ADaikinAlso sold as Amana AZV9SA361CA, Goodman GZV9SA361CA3 tons · 34,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 88.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
100% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.40 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.0 (EER2)
Great
89.0score / 100Heating 89 · Cooling 90
9PUZ-AK36NLHZ2***with ducted air handler PVA-AA36NLMitsubishi Electric3 tons · 36,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 83.7Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
100% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.10 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.2 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.1 (EER2)
Great
89.0score / 100Heating 84 · Cooling 94
105TWV0X36A1with indoor coil 5PX*D010AS3 and furnace S8V2D120M5PDBTraneAlso sold as American Standard 5A6V0X36A13 tons · 36,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.3Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
77% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Good
Efficiency at 5°F
2.20 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
88.5score / 100Heating 79 · Cooling 98

These are certified test ratings, not a recommendation for your home. The right size comes from a load calculation by a contractor.

Want every model’s heating and cooling sub-scores and the all-sizes board? Switch to Advanced

What good looks like: ducted, 2.5–3 tons

Good is better than half of this size class, great is the top quarter, top is the top 10%. The scale comes from the class’s own ratings.

Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F
Heating power kept at 5°F
How much of its mild-weather heating power the unit still delivers at 5°F.
Good
70%+
Great
90%+
Top 10%
100%+
COP at 5°F
Efficiency on a 5°F day
How much heat the unit makes from each unit of electricity when it is 5°F outside.
Good
2.00+
Great
2.10+
Top 10%
2.36+
HSPF2
Winter-long heating efficiency
Heating efficiency over a whole winter, measured with a federal test.
Good
8.3+
Great
9.2+
Top 10%
10.2+
SEER2
Summer-long cooling efficiency
Cooling efficiency over a whole summer, measured with a federal test.
Good
16.5+
Great
18.5+
Top 10%
19.4+
EER2
Hot-day cooling efficiency
Cooling efficiency on a 95°F afternoon.
Good
11.5+
Great
12.0+
Top 10%
12.1+

Next steps

The advanced view adds the all-sizes boards, each qualifier’s peer percentiles, charts of every model in each size class, and the EER2 and heat output boards.

Open the advanced view

All-around best heat pumps by size

All-around best, ducted 2.5–3 tons

What good looks like: ducted, 2.5–3 tons

Heating power kept at 5°F

Efficiency on a 5°F day

Winter-long heating efficiency

Summer-long cooling efficiency

Hot-day cooling efficiency

Next steps