How long does a heat pump last?

Name: U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), public-use microdata file v7
Creator: U.S. Energy Information Administration

For heat pumps, the average lifetime the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) used in its 2017 efficiency rule on central air conditioners and heat pumps was 15.3 years (2017 rule, data 1983-2009, read 2026-10-17, national, n not published by the source).

Source: DOE 2017 central air conditioner and heat pump rule, read 17 October 2026.

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InstaBids ran its own count on the public microdata of the 2020 home energy survey by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA): 19.9% of US households whose main space heating equipment is a central heat pump had a heat pump 15 or more years old (EIA RECS 2020, read 2026-10-17, n = 2,218, SE 1.1 points), and in Florida the share was 10.5% (EIA RECS 2020, read 2026-10-17, n = 216, SE 2.1 points). Of the heat pump households counted, EIA had imputed (filled in statistically) the age for 13.7% in the US and 8.8% in Florida. Every heat pump counted was still in use, so these shares describe age, not lifespan.

Researched by the InstaBids editorial team. Last checked: 17 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-17

In our own counts, n is the number of surveyed households behind a share and SE is its standard error, a measure of sampling error, in percentage points.

How long it lasts, by source

DOE's figure moves with climate. In its 2017 rule, DOE used 16.4 years for its “Heat Pumps” row in the North climate region (2017 rule, data 1983-2009, read 2026-10-17, North climate region, n not published by the source), 15.4 years in the hot-dry climate region (2017 rule, data 1983-2009, read 2026-10-17, hot-dry climate region, n not published by the source) and 15.1 years in the hot-humid climate region (2017 rule, data 1983-2009, read 2026-10-17, hot-humid climate region, n not published by the source), beside the national average above.
Looking only at the condenser, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gives 15 years to the row “Electric heat pump, condenser, pad or rooftop” in both its Family and Elderly columns (structured on the ASTM E2018-08 outline, no issue date, read 2026-10-17, national, multifamily, n not published by the source). HUD's table is a planning standard for capital needs assessments of multifamily buildings, not a measured life of the heat pump in a house.

Fannie Mae's useful-life table for multifamily property condition assessments gives 15 years for a dwelling unit's “Heat pump condensing component” in its “Multifamily / Coop” column (table version 10/14, read 2026-10-17, national, multifamily, n not published by the source). It too is a planning life for multifamily properties and not a measured life of one home's equipment, so it stands beside the DOE and HUD figures rather than being averaged with them.

On its page about when to replace heating and cooling equipment, ENERGY STAR, a program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and DOE, lists this among the signs that it may be time to call a contractor: “Your heat pump or air conditioner is more than 10 years old.” (no issue date, read 2026-10-17, national, n not published by the source). That age is one sign on ENERGY STAR's list, not a heat pump lifespan.

In Florida

With 10 or more years old as the bar, the Florida share is 29.4% of households whose main space heating equipment is a central heat pump (EIA RECS 2020, read 2026-10-17, n = 216, SE 3.5 points), against 38.8% of US households whose main space heating equipment is a central heat pump (EIA RECS 2020, read 2026-10-17, n = 2,218, SE 1.2 points). Heat pumps that had already been taken out were never in the count, so neither share is a lifetime.

At the top of EIA's age scale, in the bin “20 or more years old”, were 9.6% of US households whose main space heating equipment is a central heat pump (EIA RECS 2020, read 2026-10-17, n = 2,218, SE 0.7 points) and 5.1% of Florida households whose main space heating equipment is a central heat pump (EIA RECS 2020, read 2026-10-17, n = 216, SE 1.4 points): the oldest heat pumps still running when the survey was taken.

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Sources for the figures on this page

U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps, direct final rule, 82 FR 1786 (January 6, 2017), Table IV-16, p. 1819, read 17 October 2026. U.S. government work, public domain.
U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), public-use microdata file v7, read 17 October 2026. U.S. government work, public domain; EIA credited as the source. Microdata file: recs2020_public_v7.csv.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, CNA e-Tool Estimated Useful Life Table, read 17 October 2026. U.S. government work, public domain.
Fannie Mae, Form 4099.F, Instructions for Performing a Multifamily Property Condition Assessment (Version 2.0), Appendix F, Estimated Useful Life Tables (10/14), read 17 October 2026. (c) 2014 Fannie Mae; one figure cited with attribution.
ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA / DOE), When is it time to replace?, read 17 October 2026. U.S. government work, public domain.