Heat pumps are key to home electrification — but will Americans buy in?

On a hot summer day, contractors snake wiring through the basement of a townhouse in southeast Washington to install a heat pump, a key component of the United States’ multi-billion dollar push towards greater home electrification.

Less sexy than an electric car, more obscure than solar panels, heat pumps are an energy-efficient system for replacing both a heater and air conditioner in one appliance. Heat pump hot water heaters also exist.