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Which heat pumps meet CEE, DOE cold-climate, Xcel and ENERGY STAR standards

Each standard is checked against AHRI-certified ratings, one certification at a time: a model qualifies when at least one of its indoor pairings meets every criterion of a path on its own. Values are never combined across pairings. Program rules beyond ratings are not checked.

New to heat pump ratings? The Simple view explains them in plain words →

StandardsData as of updated · sources

Qualification at a glance

Share of 9,640 outdoor models with at least one qualifying certification
StandardShare of modelsModelsCertifications
CEE 2025 Tier 1 (Split ASHP)Consortium for Energy Efficiency48.4%4,66398,128
CEE 2026 Tier 1 (Split ASHP)Consortium for Energy Efficiency45.5%4,39087,783
CEE Advanced Tier (Split ASHP)Consortium for Energy Efficiency1.4%1374,698
Xcel Energy Colorado cold-climate ASHP (2025)Xcel Energy37.6%3,62783,155
DOE Cold Climate Heat Pump ChallengeU.S. Department of Energy1.4%1374,698
ENERGY STAR Cold ClimateU.S. EPA25.2%2,43412,910

Download CSV of qualification by standard and peer groupEach standard for all models and for every size and duct type (this table and the heatmap below).

How models move through the tiers

Every model in one band, from its duct type to the highest CEE Tier 1 level it meets and whether it reaches the cold-climate tier.
From duct type to cold-climate tier9,640 outdoor models; each band is the models that share a path, each model in exactly one band48.4% of models meet CEE Tier 1 (2025) and 45.5% the stricter 2026 level, but only 1.4% (137) reach the cold-climate tier: full capacity and a COP of 2.1 at 5°F. 2 of those miss Tier 1 itself, on a cooling rating.
Duct typeCEE Tier 1CEE Advanced / DOE CCHP

Cold-climate tier = CEE Advanced, which uses the same rating criteria as the DOE Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge (HSPF2 8.5, COP 2.1 at 5°F, 100% capacity at 5°F). It has no SEER2/EER2 path, so a model can reach it without meeting Tier 1.
Show the data as a table
Models per path
Duct typeHighest CEE Tier 1Cold-climate tierModels
DuctedCEE 2026Yes28
DuctedCEE 2026No1,045
DuctedCEE 2025 onlyNo104
DuctedBelow Tier 1Yes2
DuctedBelow Tier 1No3,370
Non-ductedCEE 2026Yes60
Non-ductedCEE 2026No1,802
Non-ductedCEE 2025 onlyNo93
Non-ductedBelow Tier 1No1,281
Ducted + ductless headsCEE 2026Yes47
Ducted + ductless headsCEE 2026No1,408
Ducted + ductless headsCEE 2025 onlyNo76
Ducted + ductless headsBelow Tier 1No324

Source: AHRI Directory, criteria from CEE and DOE · as of

Qualification by size and duct type

The same standard is easy for one kind of unit and hard for another. Each cell is the share of that peer group’s models that qualify (darker is more).
Share of each peer group’s models (by representative certification) with at least one qualifying certification
Size and duct typeCEE 2025CEE 2026CEE AdvancedXcel CCDOE CCHPENERGY STAR CC
Ducted, up to 1.5 tons958 models67%64563%6071%756%5411%742%401
Ducted, 2 tons958 models54%51751%4871%1149%4661%1131%294
Ducted, 2.5–3 tons2,033 models35%71334%6971%1229%5951%1217%346
Ducted, 3.5–4.5 tons2,074 models19%39318%3650%216%3240%217%346
Ducted, 5 tons and up361 models11%4111%410%05%190%05%18
Non-ducted, up to 1.5 tons2,704 models74%2,00372%1,9563%6856%1,5023%6835%938
Non-ducted, 2 tons699 models68%47565%4525%3454%3755%3437%260
Non-ducted, 2.5–3 tons1,177 models58%67952%6120%241%4800%224%279
Non-ducted, 3.5–4.5 tons479 models62%29654%2600%250%2380%238%184
Non-ducted, 5 tons and up32 models78%2578%250%059%190%031%10

What keeps models out

For the models that miss a standard: whether a single rating is short (and which), a needed rating is not published, or several fall short. Judged on each model’s representative certification against the path it comes closest to.
  • Meets
  • One rating short
  • A needed rating is not published
  • Two or more short

The criteria

Minimum values. Ducted and non-ducted paths apply only to that equipment type.

CEE 2025 Tier 1 (Split ASHP)

The CEE 2025 Tier 1 efficiency level for split air-source heat pumps, used by many utility rebate programs.

A model qualifies when one certification meets every value in at least one row.
PathSEER2EER2HSPF2COP@5°FCap. 5/47
Path A (heating-dominated)≥ 16≥ 9.8≥ 8.5≥ 1.75≥ 60%
Path B (cooling-dominated / dual fuel)≥ 16≥ 11≥ 8≥ 1.75≥ 45%

CEE 2026 Tier 1 (Split ASHP)

The 2026 revision of CEE Tier 1, with higher low-temperature capacity requirements than 2025.

A model qualifies when one certification meets every value in at least one row.
PathSEER2EER2HSPF2COP@5°FCap. 5/47
Path A (heating-dominated)≥ 16≥ 9.8≥ 8.5≥ 1.75≥ 65%
Path B (cooling-dominated / dual fuel)≥ 16≥ 11≥ 8≥ 1.75≥ 50%

CEE Advanced Tier (Split ASHP)

CEE’s cold-climate tier: full rated capacity and a COP of at least 2.1 at 5°F.

A model qualifies when one certification meets every value in this row.
PathHSPF2COP@5°FCap. 5/47
Advanced≥ 8.5≥ 2.1≥ 100%

Xcel Energy Colorado cold-climate ASHP (2025)

The efficiency thresholds Xcel Energy Colorado uses for its cold-climate air-source heat pump rebate.

A model qualifies when one certification meets every value in at least one row.
PathSEER2EER2COP@5°FCap. 5/47
DuctedDucted equipment only≥ 15.2≥ 10≥ 1.75≥ 70%
Non-ductedNon-ducted equipment only≥ 16≥ 9≥ 1.75≥ 70%

Not checked: Program rules beyond ratings (installer enrollment, sizing, documentation) are not checked here.

DOE Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge

Rating thresholds from the DOE Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Technology Challenge.

A model qualifies when one certification meets every value in this row.
PathHSPF2COP@5°FCap. 5/47
Challenge specification≥ 8.5≥ 2.1≥ 100%

Not checked: Requirements not published in AHRI ratings (cut-in temperature, GWP, controls) are not checked.

ENERGY STAR Cold Climate

Units listed by ENERGY STAR with the cold-climate designation (matched to AHRI references).

No rating thresholds are applied here: a model counts when one of its AHRI certifications is matched to an ENERGY STAR record that carries the cold-climate designation.