How can a heat pump deliver more heat than its electricity input?

Energy4–5 minA solar cell can generate electricity without a turbine or other moving machinery. Light interacting with a semiconductor starts the process, but separating and collecting the resulting charges is what makes electrical output possible.

Energy3–5 minA turbine's blades are only the visible beginning of the journey from wind to electricity. Their rotation drives a generator, though the machinery connecting those parts differs between turbine designs.

Energy12–15 minWater raised to an upper reservoir stores energy that can later be recovered through a turbine and generator. Pumped storage shifts electricity use across time, with losses between charging and discharge.