One of EU strategies to stop using Russian gas is to speed up the transition from fossil fuel burning boilers to electric heat pumps. I have never heard about is electric heat pump. Below is what I learned about it.
A electric heat pump is an electrically driven device that extracts heat from a low temperature place (a source), and delivers it to a higher temperature place (a sink). Heat naturally flows from places with higher temperature to locations with lower temperatures (e.g., in the winter, heat from inside the building is lost to the outside). A heat pump uses additional electrical energy to counter the natural flow of heat, and pump the energy available in a colder place to a warmer one.
So how does a heat pump heat or cool your home? As energy is extracted from a source, the temperature of the source is reduced. If the home is used as the source, thermal energy will be removed, cooling this space. This is how a heat pump operates in cooling mode, and is the same principle used by air conditioners and refrigerators. Similarly, as energy is added to a sink, its temperature increases. If the home is used as a sink, thermal energy will be added, heating the space. A heat pump is fully reversible, meaning that it can both heat and cool your home, providing year-round comfort.
Sources: Two sources of thermal energy are most commonly used for heating homes with heat pumps. Air-Source: The heat pump draws heat from the outside air during the heating season and rejects heat outside during the summer cooling season. It may be surprising to know that even when outdoor temperatures are cold, a good deal of energy is still available that can be extracted and delivered to the building. For example, the heat content of air at -18°C equates to 85% of the heat contained at 21°C. This allows the heat pump to provide a good deal of heating, even during colder weather. Ground-Source: A ground-source heat pump uses the earth, ground water, or both as the source of heat in the winter, and as a reservoir to reject heat removed from the home in the summer. Their primary advantage is that they are not subject to extreme temperature fluctuations, using the ground as a constant temperature source, resulting in the most energy efficient type of heat pump system.
Sinks: Two sinks for thermal energy are most commonly used for heating homes with heat pumps. Indoor air is heated by the heat pump. This can be done through: a centrally ducted system or a ductless indoor unit, such as a wall mounted unit. Water inside the building is heated. This water can then be used to serve terminal systems like radiators, a radiant floor, or fan coil units via a hydronic system.
Disadvantages of Heat Pumps are: high upfront cost, difficult to install, requires significant work
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