Samsung Electronics is launching the EHS heat pump boiler, based on an air-source heat pump, in the domestic market in earnest. (Photo = Samsung Electronics)
As the season of fearing gas bills keeps returning, South Korea’s heating market is reaching a new turning point.
On the 29th, Samsung Electronics unveiled its new Korea-type EHS heat pump boiler at a media briefing held at the Taepyeongno Building in Jung-gu, Seoul. This is more than a simple product launch. It is the first full-scale private-sector response to the government’s policy of electrifying heating, which aims to deploy 3.5 million heat pumps by 2035.
The key is efficiency. According to Samsung Electronics, the new product posted a seasonal performance factor (SCOP) of 4.9 based on a 35-degree outlet temperature for floor heating.
In other words, putting in 1 kW of electricity produces heating energy equivalent to 4.9 kW. Compared with a fossil-fuel boiler, which creates 0.9 kW of heat from 1 kW of gas, that is a fivefold difference.
Song Byung-ha, group leader of the Air Solution Team in Samsung Electronics’ DA division, expressed confidence, saying it is “being evaluated as on the verge of becoming a top player in the European market.”
◎The operating principle called “energy magic”
The reason heat pumps seem to exceed 100% efficiency lies in how they work. Gas boilers and electric heaters directly create heat by burning fuel or using electrical resistance.
According to the law of conservation of energy, they cannot produce more heat than the energy they consume. Including losses from smoke and light, actual efficiency remains in the 80% to 95% range.
Heat pumps are different. They do not create heat; they move it. As the refrigerant changes state from liquid to gas and back to liquid, it draws heat scattered in the outside air and transfers it indoors.
It is closer to a conveyor belt. Even if the outside air is below freezing, the structure uses the physical principle that heat energy remains in it down to absolute zero (minus 273 degrees Celsius). That is the secret behind moving large amounts of heat with relatively little electricity.
However, this efficiency depends on the outside temperature. The colder the outdoor air, the less heat there is to move. In an environment like a Korean winter, where temperatures fall below minus 10 degrees Celsius, efficiency drops sharply.
Samsung Electronics’ “flash injection” technology applied to this new product targets that weakness. By injecting both liquid and gaseous refrigerant into the compressor, it maintains operation even at minus 25 degrees Celsius. It also highlighted its ability to supply 70-degree hot water even at minus 15 degrees Celsius. In a demonstration in Yangpyeong, a measured result showed heating costs were reduced by 53%.
◎Europe moved first… South Korea is late to the starting line
Behind Samsung Electronics’ move into the Korean market is a global trend. Europe has already recognized heat pumps as a renewable energy source and rolled out generous subsidies.
As energy security issues emerged due to Russia’s control over gas supplies, policy momentum accelerated even further. Europe accounts for half of global heat pump boiler sales. The United States, Japan, and China are also pushing deployment with subsidies and tax benefits to protect domestic industries and cut carbon emissions.
South Korea started late. The government sent a clear policy signal in December last year through the “Heat Pump Deployment Promotion Plan” announced by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.
The key goals are to deploy 3.5 million units by 2035 and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by 5.18 million tons. This year’s budget starts at 14.4 billion won, with subsidies covering up to 70% of installation costs per household. According to Samsung Electronics’ analysis, of the roughly 14 million won installation cost, the consumer burden falls to the 4 million won range.
Priority support is for detached houses in areas without city gas. The rollout begins with homes in southern regions that already have solar power, then expands to community centers, care facilities, and greenhouses. The government plans to scale the project up gradually from 2027. It is a signal that, having started late, it intends to step on the accelerator hard.
◎Korean-specific challenges: the progressive rate system and apartment load limits
The problem is that there are variables in the Korean market that cannot be solved by subsidies alone. The biggest obstacle is electricity pricing.
Heat pumps run on electricity. Under Korea’s progressive household electricity tariff, the more you use, the faster the unit price rises. When temperatures fall below freezing and efficiency drops, electricity consumption can increase enough to push users into a higher tariff bracket, making operating costs more expensive than a gas boiler.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has identified this as the biggest hurdle. It plans to work with Korea Electric Power Corporation to prepare either a dedicated heat pump tariff or a plan exempting heat pumps from the progressive rate system by the end of this year or early next year.
The special nature of housing in Korea is also a major challenge. More than half of Korean households live in apartments. Heat pump outdoor units are heavier and bulkier than gas boilers.
New design considerations are needed in high-rise apartments regarding load-bearing standards, electricity capacity, and exterior wall installation space. Song said, “We are discussing deployment measures suited to Korea’s high-rise apartment environment with Samsung C&T, and results will be out soon.” The government is also in discussions to revise the Housing Act so that heat pumps are reflected in design standards for new apartment complexes.
Consumer perception remains a strong barrier as well. Compared with a condensing boiler that can be installed for 1 million won, a 14 million won heat pump is a heavy burden at the starting line.
Even after a 70% subsidy, the cost is still 4 million won. On the price tag alone, that is four times more expensive. Whether the market can sustain itself once government subsidies disappear is the real test. The key will be how quickly the investment can be recovered through lower operating costs.
◎Where is the solution?
There is no single prescription. But the common starting point identified by experts is reforming the progressive tariff system. Whether through a dedicated electricity rate for household heat pumps or by exempting them from progressive billing, the market cannot move on subsidies alone unless operating-cost burdens are eased. The reason Europe could move quickly was because electricity was cheaper than gas, or because its tariff structure was linked to self-consumption from renewable energy.
Recognizing air heat as renewable energy is also expected to become a turning point. The government is working on revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy to include air heat, which has so far not been recognized as renewable energy.
If this change is finalized, the scope for heat pump use will widen within the renewable-energy obligation ratios for public institutions and zero-energy building certification standards. It would open the path for heat pumps to become a basic installation option in the new-building market.
Building an industrial ecosystem is a longer-term task. Heat pumps require not only the main unit but also installation and maintenance personnel, parts supply chains, and after-sales service networks to function properly. The government also plans to simultaneously push for the creation of a Heat Pump Industry Association, the training of specialized personnel by sector, and support for developing large-capacity heat pump technology. The challenge is to compress 50 years of boiler-industry infrastructure into 5 to 10 years.
The most decisive variable is ultimately the apartment market. The goal of deploying 3.5 million units is difficult to achieve without apartments. That is why the joint research currently underway by Samsung Electronics and Samsung C&T matters. If a standard model that meets all the load, power, noise, and space constraints of high-rise apartments emerges, deployment could accelerate sharply. What is needed is a comprehensive solution that includes not only new buildings but also the remodeling market for aging apartments.
◎The remaining questions
Samsung Electronics’ entry into the Korean market is a starting signal. Existing boiler and HVAC companies such as LG Electronics, Kiturami, and Kyungdong Navien are also expanding their heat pump lineups around the same time.
There is a possibility of a virtuous cycle in which market competition lowers prices and improves technology. If government policy and private-sector technology align, South Korea’s heating market, which has depended on gas for 50 years, could be meaningfully shaken up.
However, for this trend to become self-sustaining, it must become a product that consumers choose even after subsidies disappear. The answer depends on two variables.
A power tariff structure that can bring operating costs down to the level of gas boilers, and a Korean-style standard solution that works in apartments. If those two variables are not resolved, the 3.5 million-unit target could end up limited to detached houses and public facilities combined.
A fivefold efficiency figure is an alluring starting point. But the distance from the starting line to the finish line will be determined not by technology, but by policy and infrastructure. Samsung Electronics’ description of this as “energy magic” is likely to be more than a marketing phrase; it may become a test that determines what South Korea’s heating market looks like five years from now.