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 older R-410A heat pumps, no longer installed new. See models sold today · 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.

1,591 of 2,030 models in this size class have all five ratings.

1ARUN038GSS4LG3 tons · 38,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 97.0Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
96% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
3.19 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
10.6 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
20.1 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
14.0 (EER2)
Top 10%
97.5score / 100Heating 97 · Cooling 98
2MCY-MAP0367HS-ULCarrier (sold as Toshiba Carrier)3 tons · 36,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 87.6Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC
Heat kept at 5°F
76% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Good
Efficiency at 5°F
3.05 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
10.9 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
20.1 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.1 (EER2)
Top 10%
91.0score / 100Heating 88 · Cooling 94
3MCY-MAP0367HS-UL*Carrier (sold as Toshiba Carrier)3 tons · 36,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 86.7Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
78% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Good
Efficiency at 5°F
2.70 (COP at 5°F)
Top 10%
Winter efficiency
10.9 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
20.1 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.1 (EER2)
Top 10%
90.5score / 100Heating 87 · Cooling 94
4PUZ-HA36NKA1***with ducted air handler PVA-A36AAMitsubishi ElectricAlso sold as Trane / Mitsubishi Electric PUZ-HA36NKA, Trane / Mitsubishi Electric TRUZH0361KA00, Trane / Mitsubishi Electric TRUZH0361KA00NA, Trane / Mitsubishi Electric TRUZH0361KA103 tons · 33,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 84.8Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
95% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.00 (COP at 5°F)
Good
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
18.2 (SEER2)
Great
Hot-day cooling
13.2 (EER2)
Top 10%
87.2score / 100Heating 85 · Cooling 90
5UP18AZ36AJVCwith indoor coil RCFZ6021SEAAM and furnace U802VA075317MRheem (sold as RUUD)3 tons · 34,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.7Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
126% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.20 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
8.5 (HSPF2)
Good
Cooling efficiency
20.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
87.2score / 100Heating 81 · Cooling 94
6RP18AZ36AJVCwith indoor coil RCFZ6021SEAAM and furnace R802VA075317MRheemAlso sold as SURE SP18AZ36AJVC3 tons · 34,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.6Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
119% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.20 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
8.5 (HSPF2)
Good
Cooling efficiency
20.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
87.2score / 100Heating 81 · Cooling 94
7FOP1836MJAZCAwith indoor coil FCCA6021SZEA and furnace FF75173LT80XFujitsu3 tons · 34,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.5Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
119% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.20 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
8.5 (HSPF2)
Good
Cooling efficiency
20.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
87.2score / 100Heating 81 · Cooling 94
8RAV-SP302AT2P-ULwith ducted air handler RAV-SM302BTP-ULCarrier (sold as Toshiba Carrier)2.5 tons · 30,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 82.0Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC
Heat kept at 5°F
75% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Good
Efficiency at 5°F
2.19 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
10.3 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
19.3 (SEER2)
Great
Hot-day cooling
12.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
86.5score / 100Heating 82 · Cooling 91
9LMU361HHVLG3 tons · 36,000 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.2Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, Xcel CC, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
90% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
1.93 (COP at 5°F)
Good
Winter efficiency
10.0 (HSPF2)
Top 10%
Cooling efficiency
19.0 (SEER2)
Great
Hot-day cooling
13.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
86.2score / 100Heating 80 · Cooling 92
10FRP18AZ36AJVCwith ducted air handler FRHMVZ6021SEACAFriedrich3 tons · 34,200 Btu/h · DuctedCold-climate pick, score 80.6Meets CEE 2025, CEE 2026, CEE Advanced, Xcel CC, DOE CCHP, ENERGY STAR CC
Heat kept at 5°F
113% (Capacity at 5°F vs 47°F)
Top 10%
Efficiency at 5°F
2.10 (COP at 5°F)
Great
Winter efficiency
8.5 (HSPF2)
Good
Cooling efficiency
20.0 (SEER2)
Top 10%
Hot-day cooling
12.5 (EER2)
Top 10%
86.1score / 100Heating 78 · 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, 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
65%+
Great
82%+
Top 10%
90%+
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
2.05+
Top 10%
2.34+
HSPF2
Winter-long heating efficiency
Heating efficiency over a whole winter, measured with a federal test.
Good
8.1+
Great
9.2+
Top 10%
10.0+
SEER2
Summer-long cooling efficiency
Cooling efficiency over a whole summer, measured with a federal test.
Good
15.8+
Great
17.5+
Top 10%
20.0+
EER2
Hot-day cooling efficiency
Cooling efficiency on a 95°F afternoon.
Good
11.0+
Great
11.7+
Top 10%
12.0+

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 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