The International Energy Agency’s roadmap to greening the economy as fast as world leaders have promised shows the share of heat pumps in global sales of heating equipment soaring from 10% in 2022 to 50% in 2026.
“The very strong growth that appeared in 2022 and 2023 – war-related and gas price-related – didn’t have a foundation in robust policy,” said Paul Kenny, director general of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA).
Heat pump sales fell 23% in Europe last year, industry data shows, reverting to the level they were at before the war in Ukraine and slowing the shift away from gas-burning boilers.
Heat pumps, which warm rooms using the same technology that fridges use to chill food, are seen as key tools to reduce reliance on foreign gas and stop global heating.
Two million heat pumps were sold in 2024 – the same as in 2021 – despite high gas prices and security fears continuing to plague Europe.
