In order to promote electric energy substitution for heating, firstly, the mathematical models and simulation subsystems of heat pump components such as condenser, evaporator, compressor and thermal expansion valve are established. Then, the heating modes of various brands and models of heat pump are simulated. The simulated values of main heat pump performance parameters are compared with the corresponding measured values to verify the accuracy of the simulation. Finally, based on the simulation system of heat pump, the terminal energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission, operation cost and total cost per unit heating area of air source heat pump in typical heating season in Beijing are cal culated, which is compared with the data of regenerative electricheater, scattered coal heating and distributed gas heating. The results show that the errors between the simulated and measured values of heat pump performance parameters are acceptable,source heat pump is the most worth popularizing distributed heat airing technology.