There's no refrigerant here. Our heat pump uses plain water mixed with an anti-freezing agent. Just like the cooler in a car does. And there are control display

There's no refrigerant here. Our heat pump uses plain water mixed with an anti-freezing agent. Just like the cooler in a car does. And there are control displays where you control all operating parameters. As for the "pump heat from here to there" ... while we are cooling we are warming the ground below. And as at our place, the ground's consistency keeps the warmth rather local, we reuse it later when we warm our water during the night. We do live in a densely populated area and about every fifth hoiuse built here during the last 10 years uses a ground-based heat pump. As for electricity use: each house has two hours of "blockage" where the pump is not allowed to run, so that the power lines aren't stressed. That's no problem at all, because all houses are highly insulated and thus buffer rather good.