Overview: Heat pumps, which efficiently warm or cool air, have become staples in new home construction. But manufacturers, who tend to use centuries-old heating technology, have been slow to adopt heat pumps, which are not only cost-effective but could pay dividends in public health and environmental quality improvements.

In recent years, heat pumps — an air conditioning technology that efficiently produces warm or cool air and distributes it evenly through a home — have become a common element in everyday life, appearing in a growing number of houses and apartments.

The technology, however, can be applied in other settings too — namely, manufacturing that doesn’t require high levels of heat, like food processing, paper milling, and the production of chemicals. And a new report finds tha

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