Heat pumps are having a bit of a moment. Here is a visual to help you better understand how they work.
There’s a lot of talk about heat pumps. This is how they heat and cool homes
Graeme Bruce · CBC News ·
A project engineer checks the paperwork for the installation of a heat pump on a model house in 2021 in Slough, England. Canada has seen an increase in heat pump use in recent years. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Heat pumps are having a bit of a moment.
Once considered a novel and fringe technology, these home heating and cooling units are gaining in popularity, and have been getting enthusiastic endorsements from many government officials.
Heat pump use in Canada has increased in recent years, and that shift may accelerate as a result of new federal cash to help households make the switch.
Heat pumps — which use electricity and don’t burn fossil fuels — are more efficient than traditional means of indoor climate control because they transfer warm and cold air rather than generateit.
Here is a visual to help you better understand how they work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Graeme Bruce is a producer for CBC News, based in Ottawa. Previously, he was a digital editor at the Winnipeg Free Press. Find him on Twitter @graemebruce_ and reach him by email at graeme.bruce@cbc.ca.
