European heat pump market

The number of heat pump units sold in the European heat pump market increased by 3% in 2013. A total of 769 879 units were sold in the 21 European countries covered by this year’s EHPA report.
The number of heat pump units sold in the European heat pump market increased by 3% in 2013. A total of 769 879 units were sold in the 21 European countries covered by this year’s EHPA report.

Assuming a useful life of 20 years, the heat pump stock at the end of 2013 exceeds 6,74 million units.

The heat pump market continues to be governed by three major trends:

1. Air is and will remain the dominant energy source for heat pumps (note that cooling-only units are not counted in the report, see Annex II).
2. Sanitary hot-water heat pumps are the fastest growing heat-pump segment across Europe. This category is the only one showing double-digit growth. Sanitary hot-water units combine a heat pump and a hot water-storage tank. They are either sold as stand-alone units with the heat pump and the tank in one casing or as systems combining a heat pump and a separate tank.
3. Larger heat pumps for commercial, industrial and district heating applications are increasingly popular. They quite often use geothermal or hydrothermal energy. However also here, air is an energy source used by a number of installations. Air, water and ground can either carry renewable energy or waste heat from processes. In the latter case, this type of heat pump improves energy efficiency, but does not use a renewable source.

In a country perspective, most markets returned to growth, after a very difficult year 2012. In 2013, 15 out of the 21 markets saw a positive development (see figure 1-2). Some countries even experienced double-digit growth for a second year in a row. A complete turnaround could be observed in Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Finland where the heat pump markets returned to growth after a negative development in 2012. Growth in two of the biggest markets - France and Sweden - strongly influences the overall positive results of the European market. Early signs from 2014 sales confirm this positive trend. It is indeed expected that 2014 will see larger growth rates than 2013.

In 2013, a total heat pump capacity of over 24 GW was installed producing approx. 13 TWh of useful energy, integrating 8,26 TWh of renewables in heating and cooling and avoiding 2,12 Mt of CO2-equivalent emissions. An additional 4,83 TWh of primary energy was saved resulting in a reduced final energy demand of 10,56 TWh.

In aggregated terms, a total of more than 6,7 million heat pump units were installed since 1994. This amounts to an installed thermal capacity of nearly 224 GW. All installed heat pumps produce 120,8 TWh of useful energy, 77,8 TWh of which being renewable. Their use saved 99,1 TWh of final and 47,1 TWh of primary energy.

Source: EHPA