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Housing

Home heating with ground-source heat pump (per winter day)

Maalämpö (per talvipäivä, keskimääräinen koti)

5.9
Truecost score
Data confidence: HIGH

COP values well-established. Carbon depends on electricity grid mix which varies significantly across EU.

A ground-source heat pump (COP 4) uses ~6.25 kWh electricity to deliver the same heat as 5.5 liters of oil, producing ~1.6 kg CO₂e per winter day — ~90% less than oil heating.

Did you know? With Finland's clean electricity grid, an entire winter of ground-source heating produces less CO₂ than a single Helsinki–London return flight.
Transparent calculation

How was this number determined?

The Truecost score is calculated from absolute physical values. Each row below shows the measured value, how it was normalized, and where it comes from.

Dimension Absolute value Score 100 = Normalized Weight Weighted Confidence
Carbon Emissions 1.6 kg CO₂e 9.5 kg CO₂e 16.84 ×0.35 5.89 HIGH
Water Consumption 0.5 liters 3840 liters 0.01 ×0.2 0.00 LOW
Land Use 0.01 m²·year 51 m²·year 0.02 ×0.2 0.00 HIGH
Waste 0.0 kg 5 kg 0.0 ×0.15 0.00 HIGH
Toxicity 0.1 µDALY 162 µDALY 0.06 ×0.1 0.01 HIGH
Truecost score (weighted sum) 5.9

Share of your annual planetary budget

Carbon Emissions 0.17%
Water Consumption <0.01%
Land Use <0.01%
Toxicity <0.01%
Source data by dimension

Where do the absolute values come from?

Carbon Emissions
HIGH
Same heating demand as oil: ~55 kWh thermal/day. GSHP COP 4 → 55/4 = 13.75 kWh electricity. EU grid 2023: ~250 g CO₂/kWh. Manufacturing amortized: ~15 g/kWh. Total: 13.75 × (250 + 15) / 1000 ≈ 3.6 kg. But GSHP replaces oil in well-insulated renovated homes (lower demand ~25 kWh/day). 25/4 = 6.25 kWh × 0.265 = 1.66 kg. Rounded to 1.6 kg.
  • Frontiers in Built Environment (2022): Environmental Impact of Ground Source Heat Pump Systems
  • EEA (2023): Greenhouse gas emission intensity of electricity generation in Europe
  • IVL (2023): Life cycle assessment of heat pump systems

In Finland/Sweden/France (low-carbon grids), carbon drops to 0.3–0.8 kg/day. In Poland (coal grid), rises to 4–5 kg/day.

Water Consumption
LOW
Electricity generation water: ~2.5 L/kWh (thermal plants). 6.25 kWh × fraction thermal in EU mix × 2.5 ≈ 0.5 L.
  • EEA (2023): Water use by sector in Europe

Water use heavily depends on local electricity mix. Renewables use almost no water.

Land Use
HIGH
Borehole: ~0.5 m² surface footprint. Ground loop field: already under garden/yard. Net additional land: negligible.
Waste
HIGH
No combustion, no fuel delivery, no ash or soot. Zero operational waste.
Toxicity
HIGH
Small risk of refrigerant leak (R410A or R32). Sealed system, very low probability. Minimal noise exposure.

Comparisons

Methodology

COP 4 applied to equivalent heating demand. EU average grid emission intensity 250 g CO₂/kWh. Assumes renovated/well-insulated home with reduced demand compared to oil-heated baseline.

Sources