Heat Pump vs. Electric Heat PTACs for New York Buildings

Published October 20, 2026 by New York PTACs, powered by Air Distributors Company, Inc.

Every PTAC cools the same way. The difference is heat. New York requires owners to heat rental apartments from October 1 through May 31, the city pays some of the highest electric rates in the country, and Local Law 97 now puts a price on a building's carbon. Those three facts make the heat choice in a New York PTAC a bigger decision than it is in most places.

Electric resistance heat

A resistance heater runs current through an element and blows air across it. One unit of electricity makes one unit of heat, a coefficient of performance, or COP, of 1. It heats the same at 50°F outside as at 5°F. It is simple, reliable, and the most expensive way to heat with electricity.

Output depends on the circuit. A unit on a 15 amp circuit carries a smaller heater than one on 30 amps. When tenants complain that a room will not get warm on the coldest nights, the circuit is often the reason.

Heat pump heat

A heat pump runs the refrigeration cycle in reverse and pulls heat out of the outdoor air. It moves heat instead of making it, so it delivers more heat than the electricity it uses. GE rates its AZHS heat pump models at a COP of about 3.3 to 4.1 depending on size and voltage, roughly three to four units of heat per unit of electricity at rated conditions.

Output drops as the outdoor temperature falls. Below a set point, the built-in electric heater takes over. On the AZHS that happens around 25°F. GE's variable speed AZVS keeps the heat pump running down to 0°F.

What a New York winter looks like to a heat pump

January is the coldest month, with average lows in the upper 20s in the city and a few degrees colder in Westchester, Rockland, and inland Long Island. Cold snaps push into the teens for a few days at a time. Most hours of the October-to-May season sit well above 25°F.

So a standard heat pump runs on its efficient cycle through fall, spring, and most of winter, and falls back to resistance heat only on the coldest nights. A variable speed unit stays on the heat pump nearly all season. High-floor apartments in towers feel more wind than street-level rooms, so size for the exposed side of the building.

The city's heat rules

When PTACs heat a rental apartment, the owner is on the hook for the city's heat requirements during heat season: at least 68 degrees indoors during the day when it is below 55 degrees outside, and at least 62 degrees overnight. Either heat type meets that if the unit is sized right and the circuit supports it. An undersized resistance heater on a 15 amp circuit is the classic failure.

Local Law 97

Local Law 97 caps carbon emissions for most New York City buildings over 25,000 square feet. Limits began in 2024 and tighten in 2030, with net zero as the goal by 2050. Penalties are figured on every ton over the limit. A heat pump uses roughly a third to a quarter of the electricity of resistance heat for the same warmth, which lowers a building's emissions total directly. More on Local Law 97 and PTACs.

When electric heat still makes sense

Rooms that rarely heat. Interior rooms, rooms with radiators, and spaces used mostly in summer.
A single failure in an all-electric-heat building, on a tight budget.
Tenant-paid electric in a building where the owner has no emissions exposure and the unit is near the end of a lease cycle.
A gut renovation coming soon, where operating savings will not pay back before the unit comes out.

When a heat pump pays off

Rooms heated all season: hotels, rentals, senior housing, dorms.
Owner-paid electric: most hotels and many senior and supportive housing buildings.
Buildings covered by Local Law 97.
Buildings already on heat pumps. Swapping a heat pump for resistance heat raises that room's cost. Match what you have.

Hot water and steam buildings

Many older New York buildings heat from a central boiler, and their through-the-wall units carry a hot water coil. That changes the question. A hydronic replacement keeps heat on the boiler, where the building was designed to make it, and keeps heating cost with the owner. See Applied Comfort for hydronic replacements on standard and legacy sleeves. Moving a boiler building to electric heat pumps is an electrification project, not a unit swap. Plan it with an engineer.

Comfort and noise

Resistance heat blows hot air fast. Heat pump air feels a little cooler leaving the unit while heating the room just as well. Fixed-speed units of both types cycle on and off, with small temperature swings and the familiar clunk. A variable speed AZVS runs continuously at low output, holds temperature steadier, and runs quieter. In a Midtown hotel or a senior residence, people notice.

Circuits

Heat pump PTACs still carry a backup heater, so they need the same circuit as a resistance unit of the same size. In most rooms you swap one for the other on the same receptacle. Confirm voltage and amperage first, especially in 265V towers. The replacement guide shows how to read the receptacle.

The short answer

For New York hotels, rentals, and senior buildings that heat with their PTACs, a heat pump is the better long-term choice, and a variable speed heat pump is better still in buildings facing Local Law 97 limits. For rooms that barely heat, or a one-off swap in an all-electric building, resistance heat is fine. Compare AZES, AZHS, and AZVS on the GE Zoneline page, then request a quote or call 800-866-1210.