Eight out of ten households in North America heat their homes with fossil fuels, a major source of greenhouse emissions. However, market trends show that consumer preferences are shifting towards electrification. 

As concerns over climate change escalate, many homeowners are anxious to reduce their carbon footprints. Heat pumps are a great alternative to fossil fuels and are gaining momentum nationwide. More than 17.7 million heat pumps are already installed across the United States, and the market is expected to double by 2028. This trend underscores a clear consumer shift towards cleaner and more sustainable energy solutions. 

So, what is the problem? Traditionally, heat pumps have worked well for indoor heating in mild climates like the southeast but have been less dependable in colder regions. Both the heating capacity and the efficiency of the average heat pump drops at temperatures below 32° F. For this reason, most homeowners in the Northern United States and Canada, where the winters are often frigid and long, have had no choice but to rely on fossil fuels for heating. 

Bosch Home Comfort, a leading source of high-quality heating, cooling and hot water systems, has stepped up to meet this demand with its latest innovation: the Bosch Inverter Ducted Split (IDS) Ultra cold climate heat pump. The IDS Ultra, which was announced at CES 2024 and AHR Expo 2024, is designed to provide efficient and reliable heating even in harsh winter conditions, marking a significant advancement in home comfort technology. 

“To decarbonize homes in the U.S. and Canada, it is key to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and conserve finite resources,” says Christian Fischer, the deputy chairman of the Bosch board of management who is responsible for the company’s Energy and Building Technology and Consumer Goods business sectors. “Bosch is making energy-efficient home heating and cooling accessible across almost all climate zones in the U.S., offering a promising step towards a cleaner energy future.” 

Katelyn Woodling, Bosch Product Manager, is pictured explaining cold climate heat pump technology to Mike Holmes, Contractor and Host of HGTV's "Holmes Family Rescue." 

Rising to Meet the Challenge to Manufacturers 

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed that Bosch’s solution meets the requirements to progress from lab to field testing as part of the Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge. The goal of the challenge is to advance the technology to allow consumers to make the switch to a cleaner energy future with less carbon emissions. 

The Bosch IDS Ultra underwent extensive testing at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. For five weeks, the system was placed inside an ice-cold lab that was surrounded by chillers to see how well it could operate in freezing conditions and meet various performance criteria, including: heating to at least 5°F, low global warming potential refrigerant, auxiliary heat, connectivity, and other performance criteria critical to energy efficient electric heating performance in colder regions. 

Warm Up Efficiently in Frigid Temperatures with the Bosch IDS Ultra 

The IDS Ultra is the first Bosch air-to-air heat pump designed to provide reliable heating even in sub-zero temperatures. Unlike traditional heat pumps that struggle in extreme cold, the IDS Ultra delivers 100% heating capacity down to 5°F (-15°C) and continues to operate reliably even when the outdoor temperature drops as low as -13°F (-25°C). 

How is the system able to heat so powerfully? Bosch engineers have equipped the IDS Ultra with an Enhanced Vapor Injection (EVI) compressor. Heat pumps are like air conditioners working in reverse. Instead of using refrigerant to cool the home, heat is transferred from the air outside to the refrigerant to warm up the space. There is just one problem: the colder it is outside, the more difficult it is to extract heat from the outside air. The EVI compressor solves this issue by “borrowing” additional heat from the hot side of the refrigerant cycle and redirecting it to help warm up the home. It is a simple yet sophisticated design that gives the IDS Ultra an extra boost to help keep homeowners warm on the coldest days of winter. 

The Bosch cold climate heat pump underwent extensive testing at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“Our new IDS Ultra is the first Bosch air-to-air heat pump designed specifically for high efficiency heating in cold climates. The heat pump provides 100 percent heating capacity down to an outdoor temperature of 5° Fahrenheit (-15° Celsius) and will continue to operate even down to -13° Fahrenheit (-25° Celsius),” says Alexander Wuthnow, president and CEO of the Bosch Home Comfort Group in North America. “Thanks to advances in cold climate technology, our heat pump provides heating even in sub-zero temperatures,” Wuthnow adds.  

Arriving on the market in late 2024, the IDS Ultra is available in up to 5-ton capacities and comes equipped with a demand response feature to help utilities manage the grid load. The system also qualifies for a variety of state rebates and federal tax credits to help offset the cost of installation. 

Features: 

• 100% heating capacity down to 5° F 
• Operational down to -13° 
• Highly efficient: up to 19 SEER2 and up to 10 HSPF2 (Region IV), 8.5 HSPF2 (Region V) 
• Up to 55,000 BTU/hour 
• Meets the DOE Residential Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge 
• Fully modulating inverter drive to precisely match the heating/cooling load 
• Enhanced Vapor Injection (EVI) compressor 
• Optimized system design to deliver optimal heating at low ambient temperatures 
• System can be set to communicating or non-communicating depending on needs 
• Accepts utility demand response events directly (without a proprietary thermostat) 
• Integrated with the Bosch EasyAir App 
• Suite of IoT features: remote and onsite monitoring and energy usage feedback 
• Demand Response feature available to adjust output based on utility demand 
• Compatible with BCC 100 Wi-Fi thermostat for optimized temperature control 
• 10-year Residential Limited Warranty 

The Bosch IDS Ultra is the first air-to-air heat pump designed to provide reliable heating even in sub-zero temperatures. 

Consumer Education is Key 

The next step is to educate consumers on the full potential of heat pump technology, as well as existing federal tax credits and state administered rebates available to help them make the transition. Professionals will play a key role when it comes to advising consumers, as over half of the respondents in a Bosch market survey reported using contractors and technicians as their main source of information. 

As the world grapples with the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change, innovative solutions like the Bosch IDS Ultra cold climate heat pump represent a significant step towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.  

View an IDS-Ultra one sheet here. 

About Bosch Home Comfort Bosch Home Comfort is a leading source of high-quality heating, cooling and hot water systems. The Company offers Bosch tankless, point-of-use and electric water heaters, Bosch and Buderus floor-standing and wall-hung boilers, Bosch and FHP water-source, geothermal and air-source heat pump systems, as well as controls and accessories for every product line. Bosch Home Comfort is committed to reinventing energy efficiency by offering smart products that work together as integrated systems that enhance quality of life in an ultra-efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Bosch strives to bring the most energy-efficient and environmentally responsible products to global consumers. In delivering the best products at affordable prices to our markets, Bosch has established multiple collaborations and joint ventures on a global scale to bring the latest technologies to North America. All global manufacturing facilities must adhere to stringent quality standards to provide the trusted Bosch brand.