Hence furnaces. Unless someone's managed to create servers which become cooler upon load, I'd assume these boxes wouldn't be able to substitute for heat pumps.

But in general, I agree with you. :)

What's special about 255K (0F) in relation to heat pumps?

Just a number I picked from domain knowledge. Almost all newer heat pumps can still efficiently pull heat out of that temperature, although some more expensive ones can go all the way down to -20 - -30F ambient air temp.

EDIT: If you're in a colder climate, in-ground coolant loops are preferred over an air transfer heat pump.

Ah I see. So it's nothing fundamental, just a limit on our current heat pump technology.