FABRICATED COP, COP2, HSPF2, AND HEATING CAPACITIES
Copycat brands fake heating performance exactly the way they fake cooling performance. They publish heating capacities, COP, COP2 values, and HSPF2 ratings that contradict basic thermodynamics, AHRI 210/240 test behavior, DOE classifications, and their own watt inputs. A single hardware platform cannot legitimately produce multiple heating capacities, multiple COP values, and multiple HSPF2 results depending on which sticker is applied to the front panel, especially when the efficiencies are all similar. These inconsistencies do not come from a laboratory; they come from a spreadsheet.
The same Nordica machine, with the identical compressor, coil surface area, refrigerant charge, airflow system, motor, and electronics, and chassis geometry, is advertised as having a heating output of 8,000-11,970 BTU. Ice Air claims 8,000 BTU; Islandaire claims 9,000 BTU; Applied Comfort, PMC Green, and Nordica claim 10,000 BTU; DesignLine claims 11,200 BTU; and Ortech jumps to 11,970 BTU. There is no physical basis for a 50%+ variation in heating capacity unless the hardware changes. It does not. Every capacity value above the lowest real number is fabricated.
The COP, COP2, and HSPF2 values are even more revealing. Under AHRI 210/240, inverter heat pump efficiency follows a predictable pattern: lower-capacity units produce higher COP, and higher-capacity units produce lower COP. The copycat ratings show the opposite. These brands claim that higher heating capacity comes with equal or even higher COP, an outcome that is impossible for this small coil size, this compressor, and this airflow configuration. These contradictions alone prove that the data were not measured in a lab but simply invented.
Direct math exposes the fraud.
This violates the HRI 210/240 performance curves, compressor limits, cheat-exchange capacity, and basic thermodynamics.
Ortech pushes the fraud further, publishing 11,970 BTU, 8.29 HSPF2, and a 3.7 COP, even though the OEM’s data are lower in every category.
A reseller can’t outperform the manufacturer’s already-inflated ratings without replacing the hardware. No such redesign exists.
The most evident proof is the comparison between 8,000 BTU and 11,200 BTU.
Ice Air lists 8,000 BTU at 3.5 COP. DesignLine lists 11,200 BTU at the same 3.5 COP. That is more than a 40% increase in heating output with no efficiency loss and no increase in wattage.
A heat pump cannot increase heating capacity by 40% without a larger compressor, larger coils, a different refrigerant, higher airflow, higher watt input, a different metering device, and revised firmware. None of these changes were made. The numbers are fabricated.
The fraud becomes undeniable when the data is organized. Below are tables that sort ratings and capacities in different orders to expose the scam.
Sorted by Capacity
Capacity and efficiency are related in real-world data. Of course, there is no relationship whatsoever here.
Nordica Units
Zymbo Clima Puro
Zymbo Dolphin 40
Wuxi Hammer
Sorted by Efficiency
If the data were real, more efficient units would have a lower capacity. Here, where fake data rules, higher-capacity units are more efficient. Note that this table ignores the brand’s efficiency rating and instead uses the calculated efficiency based on the capacity and wattage input they claim.
Nordica Units
Zymbo Clima Puro Units
Zymbo Dolphin 40 Units
Wuxi-Hammer
Calculated COP Compared to Published COP
Here, you can see that almost none of the COP’s claims align with what is calculated from the brands’ published data. Once again, it’s hard to overstate how sloppy these fabricated numbers are!
Nordica Units
Zymbo Clima Puro Units
Zymbo Dolphin 40 Units
Wuxi-Hammer
HSPF2 Compare
The three brands that publish an HSPF2 all conflict with the data. Does it make sense that Nordica, the manufacturer, claims a 7.5 HSPF2 based on 9,000 BTU, and Ice Air only achieves an extra half point to 8 SEER2 despite losing 1,000 BTU of capacity? This is especially absurd when ICE Air’s COP is 3.5, and Nordica’s is only 2.84? Or even better: are we to believe that Ortech somehow has an 8.29 HSPF2 with 11,970 BTU? These numbers defy basic thermodynamics.
Nordica Units
Zymbo Clima Puro and Dolphin 40 Units
Every heating rating published by these brands violates 10 C.F.R. § 430.2, AHRI 210/240 heating test requirements, ASHRAE 37 procedures, the FTC Act § 5 prohibition on false representations, and 10 C.F.R. Part 431 Table 7 for products falsely labeled as PTHPs. No copycat brand has a valid AHRI heating certification, a valid NRTL heating test report, consistent heating data across revisions, or any published numbers that match the OEM’s actual performance.
Heating performance claims across these brands are contradictory, mathematically impossible, physically impossible, legally non-compliant, unsupported by any certified data, incompatible with DOE classification rules, in violation of AHRI 210/240, and in violation of FTC law. A single unit cannot legitimately possess different heating capacities, multiple conflicting COP values, multiple inconsistent HSPF2 ratings, contradictory watt inputs, or identical COP at radically different BTUs. The contradictions prove intentional fabrication.
