Last week we walked through the Solace gas furnace lineup. The obvious next question is the other half of the catalog. Plenty of the people calling about a Solace system this month aren’t asking about furnaces at all. They have a heat pump that quit, or an old gas-and-AC setup they want to consolidate, and they want to know the same things about the heat pump line: which models exist, what the tiers mean, and whether buying one in the middle of heating season is a mistake.
It isn’t. A heat pump is a heating purchase as much as a cooling one, and the people shopping for one in November tend to be the ones who need it most. So here’s the companion piece: the Solace heat pump lineup for 2026, tier by tier, plus the winter-specific stuff — backup heat, balance points, defrost — that the spec sheets never explain.
Table of Contents
- What Solace is, in one paragraph
- How to read a Solace heat pump model number
- The 14.3 SEER2 tier: the workhorse
- The 15.2 SEER2 tier: the sweet spot
- The 17.2 SEER2 tier: variable speed and quiet
- The air handler is half the system
- Heat kits, balance points, and what happens on a cold morning
- Defrost mode: the steam is normal
- The dual fuel option
- Packaged heat pumps for slab and manufactured homes
- Get the size right before anything else
- A quick word on R-32
- Warranty, shipping, and buying one this winter
What Solace is, in one paragraph
Solace is a residential HVAC line sold exclusively through Buy Comfort Direct. No dealer network, no distributor markup — you buy the equipment direct, your licensed installer puts it in, and we back it as the authorized source. The equipment itself is current-generation gear built on proven platforms with standard, non-proprietary parts, including Copeland scroll compressors in the heat pump line, so any licensed tech in the country can service one. We’ve covered the brand question at length in our honest review of Solace and the full lineup guide, so this post stays narrow: just the heat pumps.
How to read a Solace heat pump model number
Every Solace model starts with S-, and once you know the pattern you can read a listing at a glance. Take the S-GLZS4BA1810, the smallest unit in the split line:
- S-G — Solace, then the equipment family. LZ means a split heat pump; PH means a packaged heat pump.
- The tier digit tells you efficiency. A 4 in the code means roughly 14.3 SEER2, a 5 means 15.2, and a 7 means 17.2.
- The embedded capacity number is nominal tonnage in thousands of BTU: 18 is 1.5 tons, 36 is 3 tons, 42 is 3.5, 48 is 4, 60 is 5.
So that S-GLZS4BA1810 is a 1.5-ton split heat pump in the entry tier. The S-GLZT7CA3610 is a 3-ton unit at the top of the split line. Tier first, tonnage second — that’s the whole trick.
The 14.3 SEER2 tier: the workhorse
The S4 series is the entry point, and it meets the current federal minimum efficiency standard. These are single-stage machines: the compressor is either running or it isn’t, the same way heat pumps have worked reliably for decades. The range runs from 1.5 tons up through 5, all on R-32, all sold as matched systems with a paired air handler.
Who should buy this tier? Landlords, for a start. If you own rentals, a dead heat pump is a problem you need solved this week at the lowest sensible cost, and a single-stage unit with ordinary parts is exactly that. It’s also the right call for anyone replacing a failed system in a home they don’t plan to keep long, and for mild-climate houses where the system simply doesn’t run enough hours to pay back a premium tier.
What you give up is refinement, not reliability. A single-stage unit cycles on and off more noticeably and holds humidity a little less evenly in summer. It still heats and cools the same square footage.
The 15.2 SEER2 tier: the sweet spot
The S5 series is where most whole-home replacements land, and for a plain reason: it’s a meaningful step up in operating cost over the minimum tier without paying for premium staging you may not notice. Same R-32 refrigerant, same matched-system packaging, same straightforward serviceability.
If you’re replacing a system that’s lived in your house for fifteen or twenty years, almost anything you buy today will run cheaper than what came out. The 15.2 tier just widens that gap at a modest step up in equipment cost. For most of the homeowners we talk to on the phone, this is the recommendation.
The 17.2 SEER2 tier: variable speed and quiet
The T7 series is the premium split tier, and it’s a genuinely different kind of machine. Instead of switching on at full blast and off again, a variable-speed system like the 3-ton S-GLZT7CA3610 modulates — it runs longer at lower output, which is exactly what you want for two reasons.
First, comfort. Long, low runs mean steadier room temperatures and far better humidity control, which matters enormously in a Georgia summer and more than people expect in winter, when short blasts of hot air feel drafty rather than warm.
Second, sound. A compressor loafing along at partial speed is dramatically quieter than one slamming on at 100%. Select models in the Solace line also use a side-discharge cabinet — the slim design that blows air out the side instead of the top, hugs the wall, and fits lot lines where a traditional cube won’t.
The 17.2 tier also clears the efficiency bar for utility rebate programs in many territories. Those programs vary by utility and change often, so check yours before you count the money — but if a rebate exists where you live, this is usually the tier that qualifies.
If you want the deeper dive on what staging actually buys you, we wrote a whole post on single-stage vs. two-stage vs. variable-speed.
The air handler is half the system
Here’s the part shoppers skip and installers never do. A split heat pump is two machines, and the indoor one — the air handler — decides as much about your comfort as the outdoor unit.
Solace air handlers come multi-positional, like the S-AMVT36BP1300, which installs upflow, downflow, or horizontal so it fits a closet, an attic, a garage, or a crawlspace. Variable-speed air handler models pair with the T7 tier to get the full benefit of the modulating compressor. There are also wall-mount air handlers for homes with no closet or attic space at all.
Every Solace split system ships as a matched pair, rated together by AHRI. That’s not marketing; the published SEER2 number only exists for the tested combination, and warranty coverage depends on it. Buy the system, not the pieces.
Heat kits, balance points, and what happens on a cold morning
This is the section to read if you’re buying in winter.
A heat pump moves heat from outdoor air into your house, and as the outdoor temperature falls, there’s less heat to move. At some temperature — different for every house and system, but it’s the point where the heat pump’s output equals what the house is losing — the unit can no longer keep up alone. That’s the balance point, and it’s why Solace air handlers and packaged units take electric heat kits: resistance heat strips, sized in kilowatts, that back up the compressor on the coldest mornings.
Two things to get right. The kit has to be sized to your climate and your system, because an undersized kit leaves you cold during a snap and an oversized one demands breaker and wire capacity your panel may not have. And your thermostat needs to stage it properly, so the strips only run when the heat pump actually needs help — strips cost several times more per hour of heat than the compressor does. We sort out kit sizing on every Solace order; call us at (877) 843-4822 before you buy and we’ll confirm the right one for your setup.
If you’ve ever wondered why your thermostat says “aux heat” and whether you should panic, we covered that whole subject in auxiliary heat vs. emergency heat, and the broader question of how heat pumps handle real cold in our cold-climate heat pump guide.
Defrost mode: the steam is normal
Every winter we get calls from new heat pump owners convinced their unit is on fire. It’s steam.
When a heat pump runs in heating mode on a cold, damp day, frost builds on the outdoor coil. The unit periodically reverses itself for a few minutes to melt it off, and the melting frost comes off the coil as a cloud of vapor, often with a whoosh and a brief stretch of cool air at the vents while the heat strips cover the gap. Then it switches back and carries on. Frost on the coil that melts off is normal operation. A unit encased in solid ice that never clears is a service call.
Worth knowing before your first cold snap with a new system, so the steam cloud doesn’t ruin your morning coffee.
The dual fuel option
If your house has gas service, there’s a configuration worth pricing: a Solace heat pump paired with a Solace gas furnace. The heat pump carries the load through the mild majority of the season at electric-heat-pump operating costs, and when the temperature drops below the switchover point, the furnace takes over automatically. You get the cheap miles and the cold-snap muscle.
For North Georgia winters — mostly mild, punctuated by a few genuinely cold mornings — it’s a hard combination to beat. We ran the full cost math on dual fuel earlier this year if you want the long version.
Packaged heat pumps for slab and manufactured homes
No closet, no attic, no crawlspace? The packaged side of the line puts everything in one outdoor cabinet. The current catalog includes the S-GPHH54231, a 3.5-ton unit, and the S-GPHH54831 at 4 tons, both 15.2 SEER2 — which is better than packaged equipment has historically managed, since all-in-one units usually cap out below comparable splits.
They ship pre-charged with R-32, take optional electric heat kits for backup heat, and put every serviceable part in a single cabinet. For slab-on-grade homes, manufactured housing, and additions, a packaged unit is often the only configuration that makes sense.
Get the size right before anything else
Tonnage matters more than tier. An oversized heat pump short-cycles — on, satisfied, off, over and over — which wears the equipment, leaves rooms uneven, and does a poor job pulling humidity out of the air in summer. Undersized, and the heat strips run constantly in January, which shows up on your power bill.
Don’t size by square footage rules of thumb, and don’t automatically match whatever was there before; the old unit may have been wrong for twenty years. Our free HVAC sizing tool is the right starting point, and we’re happy to sanity-check the result against your house over the phone.
A quick word on R-32
Every current Solace heat pump runs on R-32, the low-GWP refrigerant that meets the EPA’s requirements for new equipment. It’s a single-component refrigerant, simpler to service than blends, and it’s the same choice Daikin and Goodman made, so long-term parts and refrigerant availability isn’t a worry.
One practical note for replacements: R-32 equipment needs matched R-32 components. You can’t hang a new Solace condenser on an old R-410A coil. Matched systems solve this automatically, which is one more reason they’re sold that way. The full story is in our guide to what the R-410A to R-32 change means for your replacement.
Warranty, shipping, and buying one this winter
Solace systems carry manufacturer warranty coverage with one requirement people keep missing: register the unit within 60 days of installation. Unregistered systems default to reduced terms. It takes a few minutes online; set a reminder the day the installer leaves. Professional installation by a licensed tech is also part of keeping coverage intact, and with refrigerant involved it isn’t optional anyway.
As for buying in the middle of heating season: equipment ships fast, orders over $99 ship free, and 0% APR financing through Affirm is available at checkout, which matters when the replacement decision wasn’t on your calendar. Browse the full Solace lineup or everything we carry in central heat pumps, and check our price match guarantee while you’re at it.
Not sure which tier or tonnage fits your house? That’s a ten-minute phone call. Reach us at (877) 843-4822 or send us a message, and we’ll put together the matched system, the right heat kit, and nothing you don’t need.