system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: If heat pumps are seen as a green way of heating a home, why are air conditioners seen as being environmentally unfriendly, when they're just a heat pump working in reverse?
gpt
Heat pumps are seen as environmentally friendly *compared to other methods of heating,* since they don’t convert energy directly into heat like gas furnaces or electric space heaters do. They instead use relatively low power to move existing heat into an area it normally wouldn’t go.

Air conditioners, on the other hand, are seen as environmentally unfriendly compared to other (admittedly less effective) methods of staying cool like cold drinks, turning on a fan, or just sweating it out.