A Heat Pump With DIY Installation Can Decarbonize Public Housing

New devices promise to slash carbon emissions in cold climates.

Gradient’s heat pump

Source: Gradient
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Dumping apartment buildings' carbon-powered climate systems can mean massive costs, a huge challenge for lower-income housing. And environmentally friendly air-source heat pumps can struggle to work in the cold.

A possible solution: a small, apartment-friendly air heat pump that is designed to be easy to install and work well in chilly weather. San Francisco-based startup Gradient and Midea America, a unit of Chinese conglomerate Midea Group Co., each offers their version of the product, and New York City will be a test site to install the equipment in public housing next year.