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, Up to 1.5 tons (under 21,000 Btu/h cooling). What size is my system?

All-around best, ducted up to 1.5 tons

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

1,764 of 1,811 models in this size class have all five ratings.

137MAHAQ06AA3with ducted air handler 45MBDAQ06XA3CarrierAlso sold as Midea 37MAHAQ06AA3, Midea D5CSHAH06AAK, MDV MOX230-06HFN10-M1X, Arcoaire D5CSHAH06AAK0.5 tons · 6,500 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
98% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.41 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
13.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.5 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.6score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 98
2DRA1H06S2Awith ducted air handler DRADL0612F2ADurastar0.5 tons · 6,500 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
98% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.41 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
13.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.4 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.4 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.0score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 97
3MO1HS-H06B-2Awith ducted air handler MDLHU-H06B-2AMidea0.5 tons · 6,500 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
98% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.41 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
13.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.4 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.4 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.0score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 97
4BMS626HHYCwith ducted air handler BMC6LCDBlueRidge0.5 tons · 6,500 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
98% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.41 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
13.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.4 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.4 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.0score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 97
5CH-RHP06F9-230VOwith ducted air handler CH-RS06MDT-MSCooper&Hunter0.5 tons · 6,500 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
98% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.41 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
13.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.4 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.4 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.0score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 97
6ML06HP230NEXH-Owith ducted air handler ML06HP230LSDUC-IRheem (sold as Mainline)0.5 tons · 6,500 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 93.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
98% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.41 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
13.8 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.4 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.4 (EER2)
Top 10%
95.0score / 100Heating 94 · Cooling 97
7AOUH12KUBS1with ducted air handler ADUH12KUBSFujitsu1 ton · 12,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 84.1Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
97% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Great
Efficiency at 5°F
2.12 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.5 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.5 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
90.0score / 100Heating 84 · Cooling 96
8AOUH12KUAH1with ducted air handler ADUH12KUBSFujitsu1 ton · 12,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 86.7Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP
Heat kept at 5°F
115% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
1.98 (COP at 5°F)
Good
Winter efficiency
10.5 (HSPF2)
Great
Cooling efficiency
21.5 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
88.4score / 100Heating 81 · Cooling 96
937MAHAQ09AA3with ducted air handler 45MBDAQ12XA3CarrierAlso sold as Midea 37MAHAQ09AA3, Midea D5CSHAH09AAK, MDV MOX330-09HFN10-M1X, Arcoaire D5CSHAH09AAK1 ton · 9,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.0Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
112% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
1.89 (COP at 5°F)
Below the middle
Winter efficiency
12.5 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.5 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
87.4score / 100Heating 80 · Cooling 95
10BMS500-AAS009-1CSXHDwith ducted air handler BMS500-AAU009-1AHDXDBosch1 ton · 9,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.0Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
112% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
1.89 (COP at 5°F)
Below the middle
Winter efficiency
12.5 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
21.4 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
13.4 (EER2)
Top 10%
86.7score / 100Heating 80 · Cooling 94

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, up to 1.5 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
74%+
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
1.90+
Great
2.10+
Top 10%
2.32+
HSPF2
Winter-long heating efficiency
Heating efficiency over a whole winter, measured with a federal test.
Good
9.2+
Great
10.0+
Top 10%
10.6+
SEER2
Summer-long cooling efficiency
Cooling efficiency over a whole summer, measured with a federal test.
Good
16.0+
Great
19.7+
Top 10%
20.5+
EER2
Hot-day cooling efficiency
Cooling efficiency on a 95°F afternoon.
Good
11.7+
Great
12.0+
Top 10%
13.0+

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 up to 1.5 tons

What good looks like: ducted, up to 1.5 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