How to read your result
The BTU range is the heating output your heat pump should be able to deliver on a cold Victoria day. One ton equals 12,000 BTU per hour, so a 24,000 BTU system is a 2-ton system. The range is wide on purpose: two houses with the same floor area can lose heat very differently because of windows, air leaks and insulation.
The number of ductless heads depends mostly on how your rooms connect. In an open plan one head can often warm the kitchen, dining and living area together. Closed bedrooms and a basement usually each need their own. If you already have ducts in good shape, a central ducted heat pump of the tonnage shown may be simpler than several heads.
Bigger is not better. An oversized heat pump short-cycles, which wastes energy and leaves rooms uneven. Before you buy, your installer should do a heat-loss calculation using CSA F280, the method NRCan recommends, and give you a copy. For the standard rebate, homes over 1,200 sq ft need a multi-split or central system to count as whole home.
How we calculate this
- Yearly heat need: NRCan's typical Victoria heating loads, 85 GJ for a pre-2004 detached home and 60 GJ for a 2004-or-newer home, both about 2,000 sq ft, scaled to your floor area. NRCan, Heating with Oil, Table 3, checked October 8, 2026. Upgraded older homes: our assumption, halfway between.
- Heat loss per degree = yearly heat need divided by Victoria's 2,650 degree-days below 18 C; design load = that times the gap between 22 C indoors and Victoria's January 2.5% design temperature of -4 C. BC Building Code 2018, Division B, Appendix C, Table C-2, checked October 8, 2026.
- Our assumptions: each foot of ceiling above 8 ft adds 6%; sunny homes -5%, shaded +5%; the range shown is -10% to +20% around the estimate.
- Heads: our assumption of about 18,000 BTU per hour per wall head for even comfort, and one head per two connected rooms in an open plan (one per room when closed).
- Sizing method: NRCan recommends CSA F280 and a heating professional. NRCan, Heating and cooling with a heat pump, checked October 8, 2026.