Quick answer
“Pentair UltraTemp” isn’t one heater — it’s four. The UltraTemp 140 is the pure electric heat pump (143,000 BTU, COP up to 5.8 under AHRI-rated conditions, despite some listings rounding that up to “COP ~6.0”). The UltraTemp 140 H/C adds a cooling mode but gives up efficiency to do it (140,000 BTU heat / ~80,000 BTU cool, 5.6 COP heat / 4.1 COP cool). The UltraTemp 120Q is the smaller, quietest, and cheapest of the three pure heat pumps (125,000 BTU, COP 5.5-5.7, commonly $4,599-$5,899 — genuinely less than the “flagship” 140 for only a small efficiency tradeoff). And the UltraTemp ETi Hybrid Heater isn’t a heat pump at all in the usual sense — it’s a 220,000 BTU heat-pump-plus-gas-burner combo unit, priced $7,100-$10,000, sold only through dealers, not Amazon.
Four products, one brand name
UltraTemp shows up across this site’s heat-pump and brand comparisons as Pentair’s answer to Hayward’s HeatPro — but it’s never gotten its own breakdown, which matters because the name alone tells you almost nothing about which of four very different products you’re actually looking at.
| Model | Type | BTU | COP | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UltraTemp 120Q | Heat-only, quiet | 125,000 | 5.5-5.7 | ~$4,600-$5,900 |
| UltraTemp 140 | Heat-only | 143,000 | up to 5.8 | ~$5,160-$6,740 |
| UltraTemp 140 H/C | Heat/cool | 140,000 heat / ~80,000 cool | 5.6 heat / 4.1 cool | ~$5,800-$6,000 |
| UltraTemp ETi Hybrid | Heat pump + gas, 4 modes | 220,000 | N/A (hybrid) | ~$7,100-$10,000, dealer-only |
UltraTemp 140: the one usually meant by “COP ~6.0”
The UltraTemp 140 is the pure electric heat pump this site’s own best-pool-heat-pump roundup and brand comparisons point to as Pentair’s efficiency flagship. It’s rated 143,000 BTU with a titanium heat exchanger, and per Pentair’s own AHRI-rated spec sheet, its COP tops out at 5.8 under standard 80/80/80 test conditions — dropping to 5.5 under the more demanding 80/80/63 conditions. Several retailer listings and some marketing copy round this up to “COP ~6.0,” but no spec sheet we could verify actually reaches that number. That’s still excellent — roughly $1 of electricity returns $5.80 of heat at best — but it’s a smaller efficiency gap over Hayward’s HeatPro HP21405T (COP ~5.7) than the “6.0 vs 5.7” framing suggests. It’s closer to a tie than a clear win.
Pentair UltraTemp 140 Heat Pump (143,000 BTU)
- Heat-only — no cooling mode. Pick the H/C variant below if you want to chill the pool too.
- Real-world retailer pricing spans a wide $1,500+ range; shop around before assuming it undercuts a comparable Hayward or Raypak unit.
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UltraTemp 140 H/C: the only UltraTemp that cools
The UltraTemp 140 H/C looks like a minor variant of the plain 140, but the “H/C” (heat/cool) suffix hides a real tradeoff. To add the ability to actively cool the pool — useful during a heat wave, not just warm it — Pentair drops the heating side to 140,000 BTU at a 5.6 COP, and the cooling side runs a comparatively modest ~80,000 BTU at a 4.1 COP. You’re paying a similar price for less heating efficiency in exchange for a feature most pool owners will rarely use.
Pentair UltraTemp 140 H/C Heat Pump
- The only UltraTemp model that can lower pool temperature, not just raise it.
- Heats less efficiently than the plain 140 — only worth the tradeoff if cooling matters to you.
UltraTemp 120Q: smaller, quieter, and usually cheaper
The 120Q gets the least attention of the three pure heat pumps, which is backwards — it’s genuinely the best value of the lineup for most pools. At 125,000 BTU and a 5.5-5.7 COP, it gives up only a little capacity and efficiency against the 140, but it’s commonly priced $4,599-$5,899, often a few hundred dollars less than the 140’s own range. Pentair built it around quiet operation specifically: thicker cabinet panels to cut vibration, a raised top to reduce wind noise, a redesigned fan blade, and a sound-insulating boot on the compressor — Pentair’s own materials call it the quietest heat pump the company has made. It carries the same 100% titanium heat exchanger (lifetime warranty on that part) and a 10-year compressor warranty as the rest of the lineup.
Pentair UltraTemp 120Q Quiet Heat Pump (125,000 BTU)
- Lower price than the 140 for a small drop in BTU and COP — the pick for most pools under about 20,000 gallons.
- Best choice if a heat pump cycling nearby patio or bedroom windows is a real concern.
UltraTemp ETi Hybrid Heater: not actually a heat pump
This is where the naming trap gets sharpest. The UltraTemp ETi Hybrid Heater shares the UltraTemp name but is a fundamentally different product: a single 220,000 BTU cabinet that pairs a heat pump with a separate gas-fired heater rated at 93% thermal efficiency, switchable across four modes — heat pump only, gas only, hybrid, or dual. Pentair markets it as the first U.S. product of its kind. It needs a gas line the other three UltraTemp models don’t, costs roughly $7,100-$10,000 depending on retailer and fuel type (natural gas or propane), and — unlike the 140, 140 H/C, and 120Q — it isn’t sold on Amazon or through big-box retailers at all; every listing we found was through pool-equipment dealers like ePoolSupply, Vita Pool Supply, and PoolCleaningParts. If you searched “Pentair UltraTemp” expecting a straightforward electric heat pump and landed on an ETi listing, you’re looking at a different category of product and price tier entirely.
Which UltraTemp actually fits your pool
For most pools, the 120Q is the one to start with — it’s cheaper than the 140, nearly as efficient, and the quietest option if noise near the equipment pad matters. Step up to the 140 only if you need the extra ~18,000 BTU of heating capacity for a larger pool. Add the 140 H/C to your shortlist only if actively cooling the pool is a real priority, since you’re trading heating efficiency to get it. The ETi Hybrid is a different purchase decision entirely — it only makes sense if you specifically want gas backup for cold snaps or peak-demand rate avoidance alongside heat-pump efficiency, and you’re buying through a dealer rather than Amazon. For how the UltraTemp 140 stacks up against Hayward’s and Raypak’s equivalent heat pumps on price and COP, see our Hayward vs. Pentair and Raypak vs. Pentair comparisons, or our best pool heat pump roundup for how it ranks against other brands.
The bottom line
“UltraTemp” spans a $4,600 quiet heat pump, a $6,700 flagship, a cooling-capable H/C variant that heats less efficiently than the plain 140, and a $10,000 dealer-only gas hybrid — four products under one name, with COP and price that don’t track neatly with the model number. The 140’s often-cited “COP ~6.0” doesn’t hold up against Pentair’s own spec sheet, which tops out at 5.8. Check the specific model number and current listed price before assuming any UltraTemp unit is the efficiency or value leader it’s sometimes made out to be.
Sources: Pentair — UltraTemp High Performance Heat Pump, Pentair — UltraTemp ETi Hybrid Heater, PoolHeatPumps.com — Pentair UltraTemp 140 Pool Heat Pump, INYOPools — Pentair UltraTemp 140 Heat Pump 143,000 BTU, PoolSupply4Less — Pentair UltraTemp 120Q Quiet Pool Heat Pump