Oh I should mention though, there is a compressor that compresses a volatile gas that is the carrier of the heat from the warm to the cold chambers. But it's so efficient that it's pretty much free to cool kostenlos/free cooling) using ground temp (11c here). Heating in winter does cost something because we like to be warmer than 11c.

So an 'air conditioner' is the same class of technology, except (typically) it works air/air . A modern minisplit air conditioner can't get a CoP as high as your awesome ground source system, and with 11C ground the ground source system has a superpower the minisplit can't quite match.

That said, a minisplit is cheaper to purchase and install, is easier to retrofit on an existing home, and still has a CoP well over 1. This is why I think the semantic debate is a distraction when there's practical problems to be solved. I'd think we'd want all our homes electrically heated and cooled with CoP>1.

The debate should be between heat pump technology and older heating methods, not necessarily between cousins.

A heat pump that cools and an Air Conditioner are the same thing