Written on: April 27, 2026
We’ve spoken before about the fallacy of forcing American homes and businesses to electrify their heating systems. Widespread electrification runs up against a host of issues, among them the fact that heat pumps are not a viable and affordable heating option for much of the U.S.
A new generation of heat pumps is being developed, however, that solve these winter performance issues (and a lot of other logistical problems) by powering them not with electricity — but with propane.
There’s a good reason why air-source heat pumps have historically been more popular in the Southern U.S. than in colder climates. They rely on ambient heat in the outdoor air to warm up indoor spaces. When outside temperatures are mild, the transference of heat can work fine. But when conditions outside are below freezing for a sustained period, heat pumps need to run constantly and often fail to achieve comfortable indoor temperatures. They need to fall back on electric strip heat that can drive electric bills incredibly high.
These, of course, are the weather conditions where you need dependable heat the most. In the North, it’s exceedingly common for people with heat pumps to have a backup heating option powered by propane, natural gas or oil. These traditional fuels can generate robust heat regardless of the outdoor conditions.
Gas absorption heat pumps (GAHPs) are air-source heat pumps that run on propane rather than electricity. While a standard heat pump uses an electric compressor to move refrigerant through its cycle, a GAHP replaces the compressor with a heat-driven process — propane combustion boils ammonia out of a water solution, and a low-power pump then pressurizes the mixture to restart the cycle. Advanced models use Generator Absorber Heat Exchanger (GAX) technology to recover heat produced during the absorption process, boosting overall efficiency.
These products can provide dependable, vanishingly-low-carbon heating and cooling in larger homes, commercial properties and other spaces that would test the limitations of traditional heat pumps.
Last October, Bill Hewa of Stone Mountain Technologies — a producer of propane-powered GAHPs — spoke to Johnny Nickel of Butane Propane News about the exceptional performance they are seeing from today’s models. Some of the benefits he describes include:
A considerable risk created by the extensive electrification of our buildings is the strain it puts on the electric grid. Our grids are already straining under the burden of more electric vehicles and large data centers.
Gas absorption heat pumps achieve exceptional efficiency and carbon reduction without adding significant new demand to the power grid. This also makes them an excellent option for buildings without easy access to reliable grid electricity.
Now consider that the huge carbon reduction offered by GAHPs could be supercharged if they are powered by renewable propane and other low-carbon liquid gases. These renewable fuels have carbon intensity scores that are one-quarter that of conventional propane’s score, and only 15% that of America’s average grid electricity. That’s a solution for immediate and amazing decarbonization — anywhere in the country and for virtually every home and business.
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