How can a heater put out more energy than it uses? A heat pump doesn't create heat — it moves it, delivering several kilowatts of warmth per kilowatt of power.
Heat Pump COPLive
more heat than the energy in
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A heat pump does not make heat — it moves it, so it can deliver several kilowatts of warmth per kilowatt of electricity. The coefficient of performance is that ratio, capped by the Carnot limit T_hot/(T_hot − T_cold). The colder it gets outside, the harder the pump works and the lower the COP — but even at freezing it beats a resistance heater several times over.
Reading this result: At 2°C the pump delivers about 7.7 kW of heat per kW of electricity — roughly 7.7× a resistance heater — because it moves heat rather than making it.
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How it works
A heat pump's coefficient of performance is the heat delivered per unit of electricity, bounded by the Carnot limit T_hot/(T_hot − T_cold). The colder it is outside, the bigger that temperature lift and the lower the COP — but even at freezing a heat pump beats a resistance heater several times over, which is why it is central to decarbonizing heating.
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