This is not a project that ends after supplying a few thousand units to Jeju. It is the first step in opening the era of electrified heating.
On the 28th, Kyungdong Navien Executive Vice President for sales and marketing Kim Yong-beom stated accordingly at the opening of the "heating electrification center" established in Jeju. Kyungdong Navien newly opened the center at the Navien House Jeju store and activated a support system for heating and hot water electrification projects.
The opening of the center aligns with the government's expansion of its heating electrification policy. Heating electrification, which converts heating that used to rely on fossil fuels into electricity-based systems, is emerging as a new task around the world. The government is also working to expand the deployment of air-source heat pumps with the goal of reducing 5.18 million tons of greenhouse gases by cutting fossil fuel use in the heating institutional sector.
A heat pump is a technology that draws heat already present in the air or underground into indoor spaces. Using electricity, it transfers external heat indoors to supply heating and hot water. When combined with electricity produced from renewable energy, it can provide heating and more with virtually no carbon emissions and is regarded as an alternative to reduce greenhouse gases in the building institutional sector.
In Europe, the deployment of heat pumps is spreading rapidly based on eco-friendly policies. From 2023 to last year, about 3.25 million units were sold in Europe. In China, 2.65 million units were supplied to households during the same period. The Korean government plans to deploy 3.5 million heat pumps by 2035. The industry expects the trend of heat pump adoption to spread to the North American and Asian markets.
Kyungdong Navien chose Jeju Island as a heat pump base thanks to the effectiveness of policy support from the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province. Since April, the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province has been carrying out the "heat pump deployment in everyday life in Jeju" project to recruit 1,042 households in the first half alone. It supports heat pump installations for single-family and multi-unit homes that have installed or plan to install solar power systems. Although installation typically costs 10 million won, if selected for this project, the installation cost is reduced to about 4 million won.
Kyungdong Navien is also accelerating heat pump supply in step with the changes. Vice President Kim said, "A heat pump is a new Korean-style heating and hot water solution that combines energy electrification with existing boiler technology."
Kim added, "At the Jeju center, we have established product demonstrations and customer consultations, management of customer usage data and demonstration operation data, and an on-site service response system, and an engineering organization will be stationed there," adding, "In particular, since this project started in Jeju, we will do our best with installation and service infrastructure so that customers who chose Kyungdong Navien do not experience inconvenience."
Although it is next-generation heating technology, there are still challenges to solve. Beyond the initial installation cost, when temperatures plunge below freezing, the amount of heat that can be drawn from outside decreases, reducing heating efficiency. Installation is also tricky for apartment buildings and other multifamily housing.
Even so, users met on-site generally expressed satisfaction. Park Yong-gyu, 73, who installed a heat pump in November last year, noted, "It is more convenient than the oil boiler I used before." Park added, "Unlike a gas boiler, there is no smell, and once the door is closed, the noise is not loud," and, "When I used an oil boiler, heating costs were 1 million won a year, but using electricity, I don't think it will reach that level."
A Kyungdong Navien official explained, "It will vary by user depending on usage and method, but if installed for 4 million won with support from local governments and others, the investment could be recovered in four to five years," adding, "Test results also suggest heating costs will be reduced by an average of 15% to 30%."