Le marché européen des pompes à chaleur par source d’énergie (en anglais)

Analyzing the product trends by energy source, air remains the dominant energy source. Technical improvements have made air source heat pumps more suitable even for cold climates and have improved the overall efficiency of this technology. Nearly all air source heat pumps are now reversible, being able to provide heating and cooling. Compared to the sales in 2014, the overall segment of air-sourced heat pumps continued to grow strongly: reversible air/air (+49k, +13%), air/water (+22k, +14%), VRF (+9k, +21%), exhaust air (+3k, +23%). Sales of ground coupled units could stop the downward trend from the previous year (+3k, +3%). Finally, sanitary hot water heat pumps continue their growth, but it slowed down slightly (+9k, +8%).

Air source heat pumps are expected to improve further, both on the unit and the system level. Their lower investment costs and ease of installation will keep them in the lead. Key issue for this heat pump technology is the sound emission, in particular from out-side unit fans. Research shows initial results in the form of reduced emission levels and an improved understanding of the impact of installation location on sound emissions.

With building requirements continuously increasing, air source heat pumps and in particular exhaust air units and heat pump based forced ventilation systems are expected to gain ground in the market.

The trend shows a difference between air-source systems using air and water as heat distribution system.

In the future, sales numbers for ground-coupled heat pumps are expected to remain stable. However, due to an overall increase in the market, driven by aerothermal solutions, their share will decline even further. Yet, the overall contribution to renewable energy from ground-coupled heat pumps is increasing, as more and more larger units are integrated in commercial buildings.

With regard to the categories covered, air as an energy source dominates the system choice in most countries. It continues to be the main energy source (almost 90%) used in the European heat pump markets. The aerothermal heat pump segments is dominated by air/air (with heating functionality) and air/water units are now comprising 249 891 units for heating purposes and an additional 119 534 sanitary hot water heat pumps. Air/air heat pumps comprise the rest. The latter segment is the most volatile and thus responsible for both growth and shrinking of the European markets in the years 2009 to 2015.

The use of air vs. ground also differs from country to country. The observed differences can only explained by the climate variations. In general, aerothermal units are used in warmer climates where they can also be used for cooling, while colder climates demand a more stable source temperature and thus lead to a larger share of ground-coupled units.The fact that the general rule is not substantiated by available data suggests that other factors such as building standards, tradition and preference for a certain heat distribution medium (air vs water), hydronic heating) influence the selection of the heating system and the related energy source.

Source: EHPA European heat pump market and statistics report 2016

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