No low ambient on heat pump

I have a 5 ton heat pump that was installed without a low ambient. Temps get to minus 10 Celsius overnight.

with money being tight, would a low ambient switch be a must to install? Living on the west coast of Canada.

Depends on the heat pump. If it’s not designed to run low temps I would think you would have noticed by now unless it’s warmer there than here in mi. It might freeze up, just make sure to have a safety high temp shut off on your lights and if possible a monitor for temps.

If possible you can block the wind and weather from it you might be able to get a few extra degrees out if it , common sense applies here but some people don’t have it so I’ll say you can’t completely block the condenser off. For instance I have lattice around mine and a roof over top of them, but they still have several feet around them so the air flow isn’t restricted.

Most can be fitted with one
It basically just stops the condenser fan from running allowing the freon to warm
Ask a local contractor
https://www.grainger.com/product/40G401?ef_id=EAIaIQobChMI6v_26fad9QIVzilMCh2GfgBnEAQYASABEgLLqvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!264955916051!!!g!437083570253!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6v_26fad9QIVzilMCh2GfgBnEAQYASABEgLLqvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Search "headmaster control" a qualified refrig guy should know what it is when asked about it, and know how to install it.