Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
Get pumped up
Decarbonization | Sustainability | Renewable energy
September 16, 2022 – Electric heat pumps have emerged as a solution for reducing building emissions—and greener electricity is key to optimizing heat pumps’ potential. Our analysis shows that, for a typical North American grid, heat pumps powered by renewables could produce significantly lower emissions compared with other common ways to heat buildings.
To read the article, see “Building decarbonization: How electric heat pumps could help reduce emissions today and going forward,” July 25, 2022.
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Visual form
Bar chart.
Layout / body structure
A single comparison chart sits in the main visual slot, read across the heating options and then down to the note beneath the chart.
What is being compared
The chart compares emissions outcomes for electric heat pumps against other common building-heating methods, with grid mix serving as the key context for the comparison.
Measurement system
The reader is tracking emissions levels, so the important unit is relative carbon output across heating technologies rather than dollars or survey shares.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The chart is organized as side-by-side bars or columns for the heating methods, making it easy to see how the emissions profile changes when the electricity mix gets greener.
Main takeaway from the visual
The visual shows that heat pumps look materially better on emissions when they are paired with renewable electricity, reinforcing the point that equipment choice and power-source choice work together.
Key standout values or extremes
The page anchors the comparison qualitatively rather than with one large headline number in the embed text, but it clearly positions heat pumps powered by renewables as the lowest-emissions option among the heating methods being compared.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.