During Europe's standoff with Russia, the humble and underappreciated heat pump has become a key tool in Europe's various efforts to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. This is stated in article online editions of Time.
The logic of using such pumps in Europe, according to American journalists, is that a campaign to transfer houses to heat pumps would be more effective in the long run than simply asking citizens to tighten the gas consumption for heating and this approach will work faster, than increasing the construction of infrastructure for the import of natural gas from abroad, and will also help accelerate EU progress towards achieving climate goals.
“If the EU doubles the use of such installations next year, this could reduce the annual demand for Russian gas by 1.5 billion cubic meters, according to the European Commission. This is just a fraction of the 155 billion cubic meters that the continent imported from Russia last year. It is also a milestone for environmentalists, as heat pumps have gone from being a minor thought in a green energy transition to a key green weapon in the geopolitical struggle between Russia and the West,” the article reads.
The EU currently depends 40% on Russian supplies of natural gas in the home heating sector. This dependence has supported the Russian economy for decades, and also serves as a geopolitical ace in Putin's sleeve - if Russia turns off gas taps next winter, a heating shortage could sweep the entire continent, American journalists say.
Last week, the European Commission unveiled a new plan called REPowerEU that EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said would give the EU "badly needed room to maneuver" by cutting its dependence on Russian gas by two-thirds by the end of this year. Among the proposed policies, such as accelerating the development of renewable energy and increasing imports of liquefied natural gas from the United States and Qatar, a special role is allocated to heat pumps, which are often ignored: the commission wants to double the annual installations of heat pumps on the continent, producing more than 10 million units of heat pumps in five years. pumps.
In the period of global climate change, little attention is paid to heat pumps. Used to heat or cool homes and buildings, these appliances aren't as visible as electric cars and aren't as impressive as wind turbines. They are overlooked in the vicinity of the street, like solar panels on the roof. Square boxes attached to an outside wall or roof look about as solid as an air conditioner.
But there are two important things to know about heat pumps: they use electricity instead of gas, and they are very efficient. Conventional electric heating systems consume a lot of energy from the network - the auto switch is also easily triggered if you connect the heater. A heat pump, on the other hand, doesn't really produce heat, it just moves it around.
It also uses the same principles as a refrigerator or air conditioner, but works in reverse, where a cold liquid refrigerant collects heat energy from the outside air, turns it into a gas, then releases that energy and condenses back into a liquid.
"Add this efficiency to the fact that each heat pump you install uses about half the energy of a gas boiler (even if the electricity it uses comes from a gas-fired power plant), and you have a simple device to combat climate change and to break free from the clutches of Russia,” writes Time.
Doubling Europe's production of heat pumps is an ambitious target that could be thwarted by global semiconductor shortages and soaring commodity and metal prices, said Jan Rosenov, European program director for the Regulatory Support Project, a non-governmental organization that focuses on advising governments on energy issues. transition.
Some observers suggest that President Joe Biden could invoke the Defense Production Act to supply additional heat pumps to Europe.
But US systems may not be compatible with much of the European building stock, as most US heat pumps are designed to work with air ducts built into the walls and ceilings of buildings, while European heat pumps tend to be connected to systems that circulate hot water through radiators. In addition, EU lawmakers still have to actually put in place policies to encourage European homeowners and builders to install more heat pumps, without which all that US supply is missing.
