The Netherlands heat pump market situation

From 2010 to 2011 there was a steep rise in heat pump numbers sold. This can be partly explained by the fact that until 2010 reversible (air/air) heat pumps <10 kW were excluded, because they were supposed to be used for cooling only. In the discussion of the update of the national Protocol Monitoring Renewable Energy it was agreed in 2010 to include these smaller units, because they are reversible systems that can be used for heating quite well. Because the actual use for heating is very uncertain it was decided to use a 50% reduced number of full load hours.

Also, since 2011 ambient air based heat pumps are only included if they fulfil certain criteria for the COP. If they do not fulfil the criteria it is assumed that they are not used for heating, but for cooling only. The much smaller increase in installed capacity is in line with the above.

Source: EHPA