Tempstar Heat Pump installation in Greater Vancouver

A heat pump quote should never be one line and a number. If nobody measured your windows, counted your supply registers, opened your electrical panel, or asked where the outdoor unit could sit without upsetting the neighbour, you were quoted equipment. Not an installation.

That gap is where the regret comes from. We get called to heat pumps that are two years old and disappointing, and it is almost never the equipment that failed. The line set ran too long through a crawlspace with sloppy insulation. The single undersized return duct strangled a system that needed more airflow than the old furnace ever did. The backup heat was configured to kick in at a temperature the heat pump could have carried on its own, so the power bill looked nothing like the sales pitch.

What follows is the planning and install sequence the way a technician works through it, in order. Sizing, ducts, power, placement, permits, controls, commissioning, paperwork. HeatLand has been installing and servicing heating and cooling equipment across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since 1999, and this is the process we hold ourselves to on a Tempstar heat pump job.

What a Tempstar heat pump is, and where it fits in a Lower Mainland home

A Tempstar heat pump is a split system. One box sits outside and moves heat in either direction; an indoor coil or air handler transfers that heat to the air in your house. In winter it pulls heat out of cold outdoor air. In summer it runs the same cycle backwards and dumps heat outside. One machine, two jobs, and the second job is why so many people here finally pull the trigger after a hot August.

Tempstar’s residential heat pump range spans single-stage, two-stage and inverter-driven variable-capacity units. That difference matters more than the badge on the cabinet. Our climate rewards equipment that can run long and low rather than blasting on and off, because we spend most of the heating season in mild, damp weather rather than deep cold.

Efficiency is published under SEER2 and HSPF2, and it is rated for a specific outdoor unit paired with a specific indoor coil or air handler. Look your exact proposed pairing up in the AHRI directory or on the manufacturer’s spec sheet rather than trusting a headline number, because the same outdoor unit matched to two different coils produces two different ratings.

Where it fits locally: our heating season is long, wet and mild. A properly sized heat pump carries the great majority of the annual load without drama. The Fraser Valley sees colder snaps and outflow wind through the canyon, so the design temperature you build around in Chilliwack is not the one you use in Kitsilano. The equipment is the simple part. Fit is the whole job.

Sizing: the load calculation that decides everything downstream

Sizing a heat pump off the tonnage of the old air conditioner is how you end up with a system that short-cycles all winter and never dehumidifies in summer. The old unit may have been wrong from day one, and the house has likely changed since: new windows, attic insulation topped up, a basement suite finished, a wall knocked out.

The correct starting point is a room-by-room heat loss and heat gain calculation. A technician measures the conditioned floor area, wall and ceiling assemblies, window area and glazing type by orientation, door count, and takes a realistic view of air leakage. Older Vancouver housing stock leaks. A 1950s bungalow with original single-hung windows and a vented crawlspace behaves nothing like a 2019 townhouse with a sealed envelope, even at identical square footage.

Heat pumps are sized differently than furnaces because they have to satisfy two loads. Size purely for the winter heating load and you can end up oversized for summer cooling, which means the system cools the air fast, satisfies the thermostat, and shuts off before it has wrung any moisture out. Size purely for cooling and you lean harder on backup heat in January.

The usual resolution here is to size close to the cooling load and let the heating shortfall in a genuine cold snap be covered by backup, or to use a variable-capacity unit whose turndown range covers both ends. Ask for the load calculation output in writing. A contractor who cannot produce it did not do it.

Straight heat pump, dual-fuel with a gas furnace, or ductless: choosing the configuration

Three configurations cover most Greater Vancouver installs, and the right one usually announces itself once the load calculation and the electrical assessment are done.

An all-electric heat pump with an air handler and electric backup heat is the cleanest choice for a home with no gas service, or a homeowner who wants gas out of the house entirely. The tradeoff is the electrical demand: air handlers with electric resistance backup draw serious current, which pushes some homes into a panel or service upgrade.

Dual-fuel pairs the Tempstar heat pump with a gas furnace as the backup heat source. The heat pump handles the mild months, which is most of our year, and the furnace takes over below a changeover point you set. This is often the least disruptive retrofit on a home that already has a working furnace and adequate ductwork, and it keeps electrical demand modest. The gas side must be worked on by a TSBC-certified gas fitter.

Ductless, or a ducted-plus-ductless hybrid, is the answer when there is no duct system worth using, or when a converted attic or an addition sits well outside the reach of the existing trunk. Older East Vancouver homes with gravity-furnace-era duct layouts are common candidates.

One configuration decision people skip: if you are replacing a furnace anyway within a few years, replacing both pieces at once means the coil, the blower and the controls are matched and commissioned as a set. Splitting the work across two visits years apart usually costs more in total and produces a fussier system.

Reading the existing ductwork before you pick equipment

A heat pump moves more air than the furnace it replaces, and it moves that air at a lower supply temperature. Furnace air comes out hot enough that you feel it. Heat pump air comes out warm, and it has to keep coming to heat the room. If the duct system cannot deliver that volume, the system will be noisy, the far bedrooms will stay cold, and the coil will run at pressures it was never meant to see.

So before equipment gets ordered, the ducts get assessed. A technician looks at the return side first, because that is where most Lower Mainland homes fail. Many older houses have a single central return grille sized for a furnace from a different era. Supply runs get checked for length, sharp elbows, crushed flex in a crawlspace, and branches that were added when someone finished a basement without enlarging the trunk.

Static pressure gets measured on the existing system where possible. That number tells you honestly whether the ducts are already choking, and it gives you a baseline to compare against after the install.

Sealing matters too. Ducts running through a vented crawlspace or an unconditioned attic in a damp climate lose real capacity through leaks and poor insulation, and in cooling season a cold uninsulated duct in a humid crawlspace sweats.

The fixes range from small to significant: adding a second return, upsizing a return trunk, replacing a crushed flex run, sealing and insulating. Budget for the possibility. Skipping it does not make the problem go away.

Electrical: panel capacity, breaker space, and the service upgrade question

Open the panel early. This single check has cancelled more heat pump plans at the eleventh hour than any other item, and finding out on install day is the worst possible time.

Three separate questions get asked. Does the panel have physical breaker spaces free? Does the electrical service have enough capacity for the new load once the existing loads are accounted for? And is the panel itself in a condition an electrician will work on? A lot of Lower Mainland housing still carries panels from the sixties and seventies, some of them brands that inspectors and electricians treat with caution.

A heat pump outdoor unit needs its own dedicated circuit sized to the equipment’s data plate, with a disconnect within sight of the unit. If you are going all-electric with an air handler that has electric backup heating elements, that adds a second and substantially larger load. Those elements are typically what push a home from comfortable to over capacity.

A load calculation on the electrical side, done properly rather than by eyeball, sometimes shows there is room where you assumed there wasn’t. Sometimes it shows the opposite and a service upgrade is required, which brings in the utility, a permit, and a schedule you do not fully control.

Dual-fuel sidesteps much of this, because the gas furnace carries backup heat and the electrical addition is just the outdoor unit and controls.

The electrical work is done by a licensed electrician under its own permit. This is not a homeowner job, and it is not a place to save money.

Where the outdoor unit goes: clearances, drainage, salt air and strata rules

The outdoor unit placement gets decided on site, standing in the yard, not on a floor plan. Several constraints have to be satisfied at once.

Clearance comes first. The unit needs unobstructed airflow on the coil faces and above it, plus service access, per the installation instructions for that model. Tucked tight against a fence, boxed into a narrow sideyard, or crammed under a low deck are all setups that make the equipment fight itself.

Then drainage. In heating mode the outdoor coil produces condensate and periodically sheds meltwater during defrost. In our winters that is a lot of water. The unit sits raised on a pad or bracket with clear drainage away from it, never in a spot where the runoff pools and refreezes on a walkway.

Noise is a genuine planning constraint in Metro Vancouver. City noise bylaws set limits, and strata bylaws frequently add their own rules about what can be mounted on a patio or a balcony and where. If you are in a strata, get written approval before anything is ordered. Placement near a neighbour’s bedroom window on a narrow lot is a complaint waiting to happen even when it technically complies.

Salt air matters near the water. Homes in White Rock, along the Richmond dyke, in Steveston or on the North Shore waterfront see accelerated corrosion on outdoor coils and cabinet fasteners. Ask about coated-coil options for that model and plan on regular rinsing.

Also: snow line, roof drip, dryer vents blowing lint into the coil, and vegetation that will be twice as big in three years.

Indoor equipment: coil, air handler, condensate and the mechanical room

Indoors, one of two things is happening. Either an evaporator coil is being installed on top of an existing or new gas furnace, or a dedicated air handler is replacing the furnace entirely.

If a coil goes on a furnace, the furnace has to be worth keeping. Age, heat exchanger condition, blower type and cabinet dimensions all get checked. A coil sitting on a furnace with a fixed-speed blower that cannot deliver the airflow the heat pump needs is a compromise you feel every day of the winter. Variable-speed blowers pair far better with heat pump operation.

Condensate management is where sloppy installs show up first, because it fails quietly. The indoor coil produces water whenever the system is cooling. That water needs a properly pitched drain line with a trap sized for the equipment’s blower pressure, a secondary drain or a drain pan with a float switch if the equipment sits above a finished space, and a route to an approved drain. Attic and upper-floor closet installs absolutely need the float switch. We have opened enough water-stained ceilings to be firm about it.

The mechanical room itself gets assessed: service clearances, filter access the homeowner will actually use, and whether the filter rack is deep enough to hold media that filters well without adding excessive pressure drop.

If a gas furnace stays, its venting and combustion air are re-evaluated as part of the job, and if a gas furnace comes out, the gas line has to be properly decommissioned by a TSBC-certified gas fitter. Never leave a capped-off gas branch to guesswork.

Refrigerant line sets: length, rise, insulation and why the linework decides performance

The copper between the outdoor unit and the indoor coil is invisible after the job is finished, which is exactly why it gets rushed. It shouldn’t be. Line set quality is one of the strongest predictors of how a heat pump performs over ten years.

Line diameters are specified by the manufacturer for that equipment pairing, and there are limits on total length and vertical rise between indoor and outdoor units. Exceeding them without the prescribed adjustments changes how oil returns to the compressor. In our older homes with the mechanical room in a basement and the only viable outdoor location around two corners at the back of the lot, those limits get tested regularly. Measure the actual route before committing to the placement.

Reusing an old air conditioner line set is sometimes possible and often not. It depends on diameter, condition, and what refrigerant and oil it previously carried. If it is reused, it has to be properly flushed or cleaned per the manufacturer’s instructions. When in doubt, run new.

Joints get brazed with dry nitrogen flowing through the line to stop oxidation scale forming inside the pipe. That scale travels, and it ends up where you least want it. This step is invisible, adds time, and separates careful installers from fast ones.

Insulation on the suction line has to be continuous, correctly sized, sealed at every joint, and UV-protected where it runs outdoors. In a damp crawlspace, gapped insulation sweats and drips. Penetrations through the building envelope get sealed and flashed properly, not filled with a handful of foam.

Permits, TSBC certification and municipal inspection

Heat pump installations in Greater Vancouver are permitted work. Every municipality here runs its own permitting process through its building department, and the details differ between Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam, Langley, Abbotsford and the rest, so the requirements get confirmed with the specific city or township for your address rather than assumed.

In broad terms, the mechanical work gets a permit, the electrical work gets its own permit pulled by the licensed electrician, and if any gas work is involved it is performed by a gas fitter certified by Technical Safety BC under the applicable gas permit. Those are separate authorities and separate paperwork.

Why this matters beyond compliance: an inspection is a second set of eyes on work you cannot see once the drywall and the insulation go back. Permits also create a record. When you sell, a buyer’s agent asking about a major mechanical upgrade is much happier with a permit number than a verbal assurance. Insurers and rebate programs frequently want proof of permitted, licensed installation too.

Strata properties add a layer. Most strata corporations require written approval before altering a limited common property area or mounting equipment on a patio, balcony or exterior wall, and some have specific rules about outdoor unit noise levels and locations. Start that request early, because strata council meetings run on their own calendar, not yours.

A contractor who suggests skipping the permit to save time is telling you something about the rest of their work. Ask for licensing and certification details, and confirm the company carries liability insurance and WorkSafeBC coverage.

Controls: thermostat selection, staging and backup heat logic

A heat pump needs a thermostat that understands what a heat pump is. Not every thermostat does, and a mismatch here produces a system that works but costs far more to run than it should.

The control has to manage several things: compressor staging, reversing valve operation, backup heat, and a minimum off-time so the compressor is not short-cycled. On a dual-fuel install, it also has to manage the changeover between heat pump and gas furnace. That is not a setting you leave at whatever the box shipped with.

The changeover point is a real decision. Set it too high and the gas furnace takes over on mild days the heat pump would have handled efficiently, so you paid for a heat pump and are running a furnace. Set it too low and the heat pump grinds away in conditions where the furnace would be the smarter choice. The right point depends on your equipment’s capacity curve, your local design temperature, and current energy pricing. It gets set at commissioning and can be revisited.

Some equipment lines require or strongly prefer a communicating thermostat from the same manufacturer to unlock full staging and diagnostics. Check what your proposed model supports before buying a third-party smart thermostat you like the look of.

One behavioural note for homeowners. Deep overnight setbacks that made sense with a furnace often backfire with a heat pump, because recovering a big temperature swing pulls in resistance backup heat. Steadier setpoints usually win. Ask your installer what this specific system prefers.

Cold-weather performance, defrost cycles and what a Fraser Valley cold snap looks like

Heat pump capacity falls as outdoor temperature falls. That is physics, not a defect, and it is why backup heat exists. What changes between systems is how gracefully that falloff happens and at what point you actually need help.

Our coastal winters are gentle by Canadian standards, and a properly sized heat pump handles the ordinary damp five-degree December day without ever calling for backup. The stress test is different here. It is the outflow event: a few days of dry easterly wind pushing cold air out of the Fraser Canyon, dropping Chilliwack, Abbotsford and Maple Ridge well below what Vancouver is seeing at the same hour. Design around your address, not around the regional average.

Defrost is the other thing homeowners misread. In cool damp weather, frost builds on the outdoor coil. The system periodically reverses briefly to melt it, which means steam rising off the unit, a whoosh of sound, and a few minutes where the indoor air feels cooler. That is correct behaviour, not a breakdown. What is not normal is the unit encased in ice, running defrost constantly, or sitting in a block of frozen meltwater because it was mounted too low.

Expect a modest amount of supplemental heat use in the coldest stretch of the year, and expect it to be small if the changeover logic is set thoughtfully.

If the system stops heating entirely in a cold snap, check the filter and the breaker, then call. Do not disable a safety lockout or leave a unit running while iced over.

CleanBC and FortisBC program paperwork: how the process works

Rebate and incentive programs for heat pumps in British Columbia change their eligibility rules, their equipment requirements and their application windows regularly, so treat everything here as process rather than promise, and confirm the current terms directly with CleanBC and FortisBC or your electricity provider before you order equipment.

The general shape is consistent. Programs typically require that the installed equipment meets a specified efficiency threshold, that the installer holds a particular registration or program membership, that the work is permitted, and that certain steps happen in a particular order. Pre-approval before installation is a common requirement, and applying afterward when pre-approval was required is not usually fixable.

Documentation that programs tend to ask for: an itemised invoice showing equipment make and model numbers, proof the model meets the efficiency criteria, the permit, and sometimes a pre-retrofit assessment or an energy advisor evaluation with a follow-up assessment after. Some programs treat fuel switching away from gas differently than a straight electric-to-heat-pump upgrade, and municipal top-ups exist in some jurisdictions and not others.

What you can do to protect yourself: confirm eligibility in writing before you sign, ask your installer which programs they are registered under, keep every document, and note the application deadlines. Book the energy advisor early if one is required, because their schedules get tight.

HeatLand can walk you through the paperwork sequence for your situation. We will not tell you what a program pays, because those figures move and the program administrator is the only authority. Call (604) 330-3812 and we will point you to the current source.

Installation day: what actually happens, and what you should do

Most straightforward residential Tempstar heat pump installs run one to two days. Add time when ductwork is being modified, when a panel or service upgrade is scheduled, or when the outdoor location needs a pad poured or a bracket built.

The morning starts with a walkthrough confirming placement, drain routing and the line set path. Then the old equipment gets shut down, isolated and removed. If there was an existing air conditioner, its refrigerant is recovered properly, which is both required and non-negotiable, never vented.

Outdoor work: the pad or bracket goes in, the unit gets set with the required clearances, and the electrical disconnect is mounted within sight of it. Indoor work: the coil or air handler is set and levelled, the condensate drain and any float switch are plumbed, and duct transitions are fabricated and sealed.

Then the line set is run, brazed with nitrogen flowing, insulated, and the penetrations sealed. The system is pressure-tested for leaks, then evacuated with a vacuum pump down to a proper micron level and held to confirm it is dry and tight. This step takes real time and is one of the easiest to shortcut. If the crew is skipping straight to charging, ask why.

Refrigerant charge is set to the manufacturer’s method for that equipment. Controls get wired and configured. Then the system runs in both heating and cooling while measurements are taken.

What you can do: clear the work paths, keep pets confined, secure parking, and plan for the heat being off for part of the day.

Commissioning, documentation, warranty registration and the first year

The install is not finished when the unit turns on. It is finished when it has been measured, adjusted and documented.

Commissioning means the technician verifies airflow across the coil, records static pressure, checks the refrigerant charge by the manufacturer’s specified method rather than by feel, confirms temperature split in both modes, verifies the reversing valve changes over properly, forces or observes a defrost cycle, tests the condensate float switch by lifting it, and confirms the backup heat and changeover logic behave as configured. Those numbers go on a commissioning sheet. Ask for a copy. It is the baseline every future service call gets compared against, and it is the single best evidence that the job was done properly.

Register the warranty. Manufacturers commonly offer a longer parts warranty when the equipment is registered within a defined window after installation, and missing that window is a self-inflicted wound. Confirm the registration deadline and terms with the manufacturer directly, and understand that parts warranty and labour coverage are separate things.

Keep the paperwork together: invoice with model and serial numbers, permit and inspection records, commissioning sheet, warranty registration confirmation, and any rebate documentation.

First-year habits are simple. Check the filter monthly at first until you learn how fast yours loads. Keep the outdoor unit clear of leaves, snow and growing shrubs. Rinse the outdoor coil gently if you are near salt water. Book annual maintenance, which for a heat pump matters more than it did for a furnace because the equipment now runs year-round instead of half the year.

Quick Checklist

• Get a written room-by-room heat loss and heat gain calculation, not a size copied from the old equipment
• Have the electrical panel opened and assessed for breaker space and available capacity before ordering anything
• Decide the configuration deliberately: all-electric heat pump, dual-fuel with a gas furnace, or ductless
• Measure the actual line set route, including vertical rise, against the manufacturer’s stated limits
• Confirm the return duct can move the airflow a heat pump needs, and budget for duct upgrades if it cannot
• Pick the outdoor location on site for clearance, drainage, noise and salt-air exposure, and get strata approval in writing if applicable
• Confirm the mechanical, electrical and any gas permits with your municipality and Technical Safety BC
• Verify current CleanBC and FortisBC program requirements and whether pre-approval is needed before installation
• Require a condensate float switch on any coil or air handler above a finished space
• Ask for the commissioning sheet, register the warranty within the deadline, and file every document together

Frequently Asked Questions

Reviewed by the HeatLand Heating & Cooling team — licensed, insured, TSBC-certified HVAC contractor serving Metro Vancouver & the Fraser Valley since 1999. Error codes, specifications, pricing and rebate programs vary by model and change over time; confirm details against your unit’s own manual, a written quote, and the manufacturer or CleanBC/FortisBC. If you smell gas or your CO alarm sounds, leave the home and call the gas utility and a licensed technician from outside.