In order to cope with the problems of energy shortages and environmental pollution, heat pumps have been widely used for the exploitation of low-grade renewable energy. But there is little existing Chinese legislation that considers heat pumps as a kind of renewable energy technology, and the calculation method of renewable energy exploited by heat pumps in China is not clear enough. Thus, the importance of incorporating heat pump technology into renewable energy has been clarified in this paper. The current status and legislation of renewable energy and heat pumps in the EU (European Union) and China were introduced. The comparison found that the legislation in China is far behind from that in the EU. Calculation methods of the primary energy utilisation magnification (α) and the renewable energy contribution rate (β) were used to illustrate the importance of heat pumps in renewable energy development. According to the actual situation in China, a new formula of β was proposed. The results show that the primary energy utilisation magnification of heat pumps to coal-fired boilers is nearly 2 and the renewable energy contribution rate is 67% to 71% in EU while the value of it is 61% to 75% in China. These results will promote the development of heat pumps and renewable energy in China.