On this page, you will find out how many watts a heat pump draws.
The way we use energy is changing every day. Reliance on fossil fuels continues to decline as renewable electricity takes over. Heat pumps are leading the movement away from gas and oil heating systems. In fact, the market for these devices already exceeds $58 billion, and is predicted to grow at over 6% a year until 2028.
One of the reasons for this is the efficient design of heat pumps, giving you more heat for less energy. But what is the power consumption actually like?
Below we will discuss and test heat pump wattage, explain how to work it out for yourself, and calculate the total electricity required.
How Many Watts is a Heat Pump?
The average heat pump uses between 600 and 1500 watts.
The exact number depends on the size and model of your heat pump. For example, a small 9,000BTU pump uses just under 800W, while large 24,000BTU heat pumps use over 1400W.
You should also know that the running wattage of a heat pump reduces once your room is warmed up to your desired temperature. After this point, it only needs to maintain a stable temperature and won’t need to work so hard. At this point it runs at 500W or less!
When we talk about ‘heat pump size’, it is measured in BTU. This is a unit to measure how much energy it takes to heat 1 pound of water. This number is used as an equivalent rating for hot air pumps, with 1000BTU per 100 square feet. So for a 1000 square feet area you’d need 10,000BTU. You could reduce the BTU for the same area but it would be slower and less efficient to warm a room.
How to Find Out Your Heat Pump Wattage
There’s 3 ways you can work out the wattage of a heat pump.
- Check Product Specification
The quickest way is to look at the heat pump’s specification. The watts (W) is usually written on a sticker on the base of the appliance. If not, you can check the user manual or the manufacturer’s website for technical details.
- Use a Wattmeter
A wattmeter is brilliant for getting a live wattage reading and tracking total energy usage of any appliance. You can simply plug it into your heat pump to get instant information.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSu-FSrCqeM
- Wattage Formula or Calculator
If you know the amperage and voltage of your heat pump you can use this to find the maximum watt rating. Simply use the formula Amps x Volts = Watts. Or you can head over to the ‘Watt Calculator’ to work this out.
Heat Pump Wattage Examples
Let’s take a look at specific examples of how many watts a heat pump draws. Below is a collection of modern heat pumps with their listed power ratings.
| Heat Pump Model | Power Rating (Watts) |
| iQool12Plus | 1010 |
| Telefunken 12000 BTU easy-fit Heat Pump | 1025 |
| electriQ 24000 BTU WiFi Smart Heat Pump | 1550 |
| electriQ 10000 BTU Wall Mounted Heat Pump | 750 |
| iQool12Plus | 1010 |
| electriQ 12000 BTU WiFi Heat Pump | 948 |
| iQool9Plus | 600 |
| LG DualCool 9000 BTU WiFi Heat Pump | 800 |
| LG Artcool with Heat Pump | 800 |
As you can see, the power ratings vary between different heat pumps. So you should take the time to check your own appliance.
How Much Electricity Does a Heat Pump Use?
You can use heat pump wattage to work out how much electricity it uses. Plus this can be useful in understanding how much it costs to run your heat pump.
A watt (W) is a measurement of power at a single point in time. A watt-hour (Wh) is the total amount of electricity used in an hour. For example, a heat pump drawing 1200W would use 1200Wh when running for an hour.
Happily, electricity bills are recorded in kilowatt-hours (kWh). A kilowatt is simply 1000 watts. So a 1200W heat pump running for 1 hour uses 1.2kWh.
In reality, you use a heat pump for 5 hours a day. This means a large 1200W (18,000BTU) heat pump uses up to 6000Wh or 6kWh electricity a day. That’s 180kWh a month and 2190kWh a year.
That’s a rough electricity cost of $0.9 a day or $328.50 a year to heat your home for 5 hours every day.
This number will vary from house to house. You’ll find your heat pump power consumption reduces once your home is up to temperature and is well insulated. Plus you won’t be running it during the summer months. Most people report electricity costs much lower than this calculation.
Using a Heat Pump Off-Grid
If you’re planning to use your heat pump in an off-grid situation like a power outage, or remote cabin, the information above is vital. You are able to install the correct electrical equipment and calculate the runtime.
You can either use a power inverter, portable power station, or generator for AC electricity.
To make sure everything runs smoothly you should check two things on this equipment – wattage capacity and total energy capacity.
Your power source, like an inverter, should have a wattage capacity of at least 20% more than your heat pump. This ensures it will be able to deliver enough power as they are never 100% efficient.
Secondly, you need to ensure your energy source, like a battery, has enough energy to run the heat pump for the required amount of time. A small heat pump will use up to 700Wh per hour. This is the equivalent to 58.3Ah on a 12V battery.
How Many Watts Does a Heat Pump Use Summary
I hope you now have a clear understanding of how many watts a heat pump uses.
The information in the article makes for great reading. This is because you now know how efficient heat pumps have become. Most of these appliances rarely reach over 1000W, and run at below 500W to maintain a temperature.
This is insanely efficient. To give you a comparison, a space heater always runs at 1500W.
So are heat pumps worth it onces you’ve calculated the power consumption? Absolutely!
