alt Hacker NewsOh I should mention though, there is a compressor that compresses a volatile gas that is the carrier of the heat from the warm to the cold chambers. But it's so efficient that it's pretty much free to cool kostenlos/free cooling) using ground temp (11c here). Heating in winter does cost something because we like to be warmer than 11c.
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sghiassy • today at 2:27 AM
A heat pump that cools and an Air Conditioner are the same thing
So an 'air conditioner' is the same class of technology, except (typically) it works air/air . A modern minisplit air conditioner can't get a CoP as high as your awesome ground source system, and with 11C ground the ground source system has a superpower the minisplit can't quite match.
That said, a minisplit is cheaper to purchase and install, is easier to retrofit on an existing home, and still has a CoP well over 1. This is why I think the semantic debate is a distraction when there's practical problems to be solved. I'd think we'd want all our homes electrically heated and cooled with CoP>1.
The debate should be between heat pump technology and older heating methods, not necessarily between cousins.