A heat pump in every home

Written By Peter Allan

Photo courtesy CBC article.

 

By Chris Hatch

You probably know the rap already — heat pumps are the key to sustainable heating, both in buildings and for a lot of industries. And you probably know they’re as close to magic as things get in the climate world — they aren’t just “heat” pumps but air conditioners as well. And they’re outlandishly, even perplexingly, efficient. More than 100 per cent efficient. We get more energy out than we put in, with models running at 300 per cent, 400 per cent and even higher efficiencies.

If there’s a silver lining to the recent fracas over the carbon tax and heating oil, it’s that a lot of people beyond our orbit are now hearing about heat pumps. Ever more neurons firing and wiring, strengthening the synaptic connections between fossil fuels, climate change and electrification.

And since you’re all such a practical bunch, it’s probably a good moment to look at what’s working out there in the wider world of heat pumps. Who’s doing a good job getting them installed? And what are those countries doing?

If you scan the globe, the runaway leader in pumps-per-homes is Norway. And no, I’m not mixing up the stats for electric cars. You’ve probably heard that almost all new cars in Norway are now EVs, but the Norwegians are rocking heat pumps, too. Over 60 per cent of households already have heat pumps. Almost all of them of the air-source variety.

It’s a very peculiar country when it comes to climate and energy — pumping two million barrels per day with plans to increase extraction for export while aggressively rolling out fossil alternatives like EVs and heat pumps domestically.

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