On the part of the heat pump industry, there is still a huge interest in measuring current standard heat pumps in a broadly-based study. Not only do the results allow for an independent comparison, but efficiency can also be demonstrated and confirmed independently. The field survey of almost 100 heat pumps provides the optimal preconditions and thus serves as motivation for heat pump manufacturers and energy suppliers to take part in this research project.

The twelve German and Austrian heat pump manufacturers participating in the project make up more than half of Germany's sale of heat pumps and play a substantial role in the project. They contribute to the selection of the pumps to be examined and prepare the agreements with the private users. Furthermore, they act as advisers in the analysis of the measured data and help to explain measured but incomprehensible effects. In co-operation with the manufacturers, concepts for the further development of heat pumps will also be discussed.

The role of the participating energy suppliers is of equal importance. They contribute to analysis independent of producers and offer individual approaches useful for observing the technology. The influence of different tariff models on the interpretation and mode of operation of the heat pumps, e.g. considering off-times, is discussed in detail with the energy suppliers. Moreover, topics such as Smart Metering and heat pumps will be discussed.