In the last issue of this newsletter, we suggested rebranding Heat Pumps as 2-Way ACs. With much of the general public unaware of heat pumps and how they work, could a new name increase awareness?
While many strongly supported the 2-Way AC label, I’d like to focus today on those that weren’t as convinced. There’s lots of useful insight in their voices!
Poll respondents were evenly split on whether they’ll start using 2-Way AC
Why fix what isn’t broken?
Some readers felt the word ‘heat pump’ is already gaining momentum. A chunk of people felt that we should keep focusing energy around the term ‘heat pump’, rather than trying something new.
Let's stick with heat pump.
"Air conditioner" or "furnace" were once foreign words too.
Heat pumps appears to be catching on with regular homeowners. People who have traveled often know what a mini split is, so I use that. I'll try out 2-Way AC and report back!
Shreyas Sudhakar and Nate Adams I appreciate your thoughts and positions. But I think you are both bonkers on this one. In the best possible way. Yes, 2WayAC could make sense for the global majority in warm climates. But that doesn’t mean a global rename is actually needed.
“Heat Pump” is short, simple, and easy to translate. People have gotten used to names for all sorts of everyday items that are familiar but meaningless because “that’s just what we call it”. Add to this the name heat pump is also accurate.
I suggest this is a messaging problem, not a branding problem. And the messaging needs to adapt to the region and need. In hot climates or humid seasons, sure. Call it “2WayAC”. In cold climates or seasons it is “all climate HP”.
How about we step it up a notch, add in ventilation, filtration, etc, and call it HVAC? But somehow that’s been degraded to HAC so that doesn’t help.
My point is that the train has left the station. There is already momentum,. It might take a couple more years for old school HVAC thinkers to catch up. But the public doesn’t really care what a heat pump is called as long as it keeps them comfortable.
Everyone in places where heat pumps are rare: “Heat pumps need a new name” Everyone in the Southeast US, where heat pumps have a 30%+ market share: “I’ve had a heat pump in my house for 20 years, and my parents’ house where I grew up had a heat pump. What’s the big deal?”
— John Semmelhack (@johnsemmelhack.bsky.social) 2024-12-23T20:24:42.892Z
One reader points out that the phrase “heat pump” describes exactly how this equipment works! The engineer in me resonates with this, but I am still skeptical that most homeowners can make the connection.
They pump heat into a home or can pump heat out (to cool it)
ACs make things cold
This is what marketing images for ACs often look like
While many people instinctively connect heat pumps with heating, AC has a natural association with cooling. Will it be too challenging to associate AC with something that heats, too?
In heating-dominated areas, using "AC" (as in "2-way AC")to refer to folk's home heater is... going to add, not remove, confusion. Words are hard!
Someone brings up the naming problem every year, and we start this debate all over again but I'm increasingly inclining towards it. I like reversible air conditioner. And 2-way AC for people searching to replace cooling systems. But HP for furnace if we can find enough traction, because don't you want to be pumping heat in the chill of winter?
The problem with 2-Way AC is that understanding the term requires knowing that ACs move heat out to make spaces cold, instead of "putting cold in."
People think AC = cold.
However, heat pumps in certain categories are already marketed as ACs.
Portable heat pumps are often marketed as ACs already
I totally think we should emphasize the "2 in 1" capability more in heat pump advertising. But ultimately, I don't think "2-way AC" is much better. "AC with heat" is more descriptive and easier to understand, and also happens to be how most window or portable units are marketed today on Amazon etc‚ guessing they've realized that works best!
I have a better name!
People love a good naming contest
The hardest part of rebranding something can be getting people to agree on a new name.
I think many have tried, more have failed. Agreeing on a new term is near to impossible and rarely dies it get better.
And he seems to be right! Bi-directional Heat Pump, AC 2.0, Advanced AC, Multi-Purpose AC, Heat Multiplier, and Energy Harvester are just a few of the potential names that readers came up with. Each of these has its own merits, and highlights the challenges in trying to rebrand a category.
The rest of the world already calls them air conditioners
When I recently visited India, I found that heat pumps were marketed as Air Conditioners. This is true in many other parts of the world, too.
They call them “reverse-cycle AC” or “reverse-cycle aircon” in Australia
In Uruguay, it was always called air conditioner - for equipment providing heating and cooling. It conditions the air - which seems pretty accurate. And now with the new trends in the global market people are starting to call them “bombas de calor” (heat pumps) 🤷🏼♀️
Language is powerful
If someone didn’t know what a car is, describing it as “a metal box that you can sit in that has 4 wheels and will help you move from point A to point B” might be a better way to communicate what it is than calling it a “car”. Perhaps there is more value in nailing the two-sentence description of heat pumps, rather than their name.
I do regular customer workshops and focus groups on building electrification in both English and Spanish, and "heat pump" is especially clunky in Spanish. But I don't think "2-way air conditioning" makes sense to the average person either. I refer to heat pump HVAC as "electric heating that is also air conditioning". Bonus! Heating comes first, as in many US climates winter heating is a more important function than summer cooling. The long phrase is a bit clunky, but descriptive enough that my audiences know what I'm talking about. And that clear communication is what matters. I translate it in Spanish to "calentador que tambien ofrece aire condicionado" which has made sense to my Spanish-speaking audiences as well.
Do names really matter?
I don’t think people care what it’s called. They don’t buy an air conditioner because that’s its name. The words Furnace or boiler doesn’t make you choose that technology, you just want comfort. We are at 55% market share of all heating installations sold in 2024 and over 35% of all HVAC installs. Why are we focused on the name?
Ultimately, while search trends for AC or Furnace may outpace Heat Pump, the true gatekeepers are the contractors that install them. Most contractors market themselves across all of these terms, so homeowners will find them regardless of what term they search.
The real question is whether the contractor will sell a heat pump over a traditional AC and gas furnace. When I tried to buy a heat pump for my parents, every contractor actively dissuaded me from getting a heat pump. If even the most enthusiastic heat pump customers can’t find a contractor that will install one, it makes it more likely that uninformed customers won’t get one.
I’m optimistic that the combination of rebates and incentives and more heat pump forward contractors mean that more customers will end up with a heat pump over time.
Another name, not a replacement
Perhaps a better way to think of 2-Way AC is as a synonym for heat pump, rather than a replacement. In the summer when people are focused on how hot they are, a heat pump sounds unappealing.
In the middle of winter, when you’re freezing, a heat pump sounds magical.
Depending on context, we can choose the messaging that best gets the point across. Maybe I’ll buy calentadorquetambienofreceairecondicionado.com next!
