Credit: Green Finance Institute
Heat pumps now warm more than one-in-eight of Europe's commercial and residential buildings following another record-breaking year
The total number of heat pumps across Europe now stands at around 20 million, with the low carbon technology providing heating to around 16 per cent of the continent's residential and commercial buildings, according to new data.
Figures gathered by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) suggest annual sales grew by 38 per cent in 2022, totalling around three million units and surpassing the record set in 2021 when heat pump sales rose 34 per cent.
Poland saw the fastest growth with heat pump sales doubling year-on-year, while the Czech Republic and the Netherlands saw sales rise 99 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.
However, in terms of sheer volume Italy led the way with more than half a million heat pumps sold in 2022 as sales rose 37 per cent year-on-year. The Italian market has benefited from generous tax breaks and incentives for households and businesses undertaking green building retrofits, which has helped drive a surge in demand for new heat pumps.
The EHPA also confirmed that the UK heat pump market enjoyed impressive growth last year with sales rising 40 per cent, as households looked to take advantage of the government's new Boiler Upgrade Scheme. However, the overall UK market remains relatively small, with the 59,862 heat pumps sold in 2022 meaning the UK remains among a group of seven countries out of the 16 surveyed that sold fewer than 100,000 heat pumps last year.
The EHPA estimates that the number of heat pumps sold per 1,000 homes in the UK is the lowest in Europe, standing at just 2.13 devices. By comparison Germany, France, and Belgium have installed 5.75, 14.9 and 6.52 heat pumps per thousand homes respectively.
Early data from the 16 markets surveyed revealed the heat pumps sold in 2022 could replace roughly four billion cubic metres of natural gas and avoid around eight million tonnes of CO2 emissions. The EHPA estimates that Europe's entire heat pump stock now avoids 54 million tonnes of CO2 - roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of Greece.
Thomas Nowak, secretary general of the European Heat Pump Association, described 2022 as a "phenomenal year" for the fast-expanding industry, but cautioned that further innovation was required to drive down costs and prevent the transition to heat pumps slowing down.
"The spectacular heat pump growth is testament to an innovative and sustainable sector which is doing everything to increase capacity and accordingly is creating jobs, helping climate action and stabilising energy bills," he said. "But still many in Europe do not yet have a heat pump for reasons ranging from the sector operating at capacity to upfront costs to lack of clear information.
"We are working closely with a coalition of organisations and the European Commission to build an EU heat pump plan which addresses these crunch points."
The EHPA said the record sales seen in 2022 were achieved against a very challenging market environment with stakeholders throughout the value chain working at capacity and supply chains for heat exchangers, fans, compressors and semi-conductors stretched to the limit.
The new data reinforces widespread concerns the UK is lagging behind its neighbours in the deployment of heat pumps. A recent study from Nesta revealed the number of British households heated by gas central heating fell by just four per cent between 2011 and 2021 - suggesting that just 111,000 dwellings have switched from gas boilers to cleaner alternatives over the past decade.
