What are heat pumps and are they efficient?

How the heat pump works

Heat pumps use electricity to move heat from one location to another. In cooling mode, a heat pump moves heat inside your home to the outside, leaving your home cooler.

Traditional one-way refrigerators and air conditioners work the same way. In fact, these devices are examples of heat pumps, which means you’ve probably already experienced the power of this technology.

But what differentiates a heat pump from a traditional air conditioner is that this process can also be reversed. On a cold day, a heat pump can move heat energy inside and heat your home. (Yes, heat pumps work in cold climates).

Heat pumps are more efficient than traditional heaters and air conditioners

By harnessing the laws of thermodynamics, a heat pump heats and cools a home more efficiently than any other HVAC system.

The most efficient natural gas furnace, for example, could operate at 98% efficiency. This means that for every 100 units of energy consumed by the furnace, 98 units are converted into useful heat. Electric furnaces operate at 100% efficiency.

Heat pumps, by comparison, typically operate with 200-400% efficiency.

That’s why, for most homeowners, heat pumps are the most efficient way to heat and cool a home.

Heat pumps help transition to green living

Heat pumps can efficiently and reliably deliver heat and cooling to new and old buildings, retrofitted buildings, non-residential buildings and even entire urban neighbourhoods. High-temperature heat pumps are already used in industrial processes.

Heat pumps are increasingly being hailed by environmentalists as a revolutionary technology, offering a much more cost-effective and energy-efficient way to keep homes and offices warm.

The defossilization and electrification of heat supply through heat pumps not only allows for more efficient use of renewable energy sources, but also makes electricity consumption more flexible and thus stabilizes power grids.