DESNZ publishes UK space cooling report
25th September 2026
UK: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has published its report into the UK space cooling market as a first step in its commitment to the Global Cooling Pledge.
The UK was one of 63 countries that signed up to the Global Cooling Pledge in December 2023. It aims to reduce cooling-related CO2 emissions by at least 68% by 2050, compared to 2022 levels.
According to DESNZ, the UK Space Cooling Market Landscape Update report is designed to be a coherent source of data, intelligence and insight and provides the basis for future research on the active cooling market.
While cooling is a significant and growing part of UK energy demand, there has been a lack of data, intelligence and insight on the market. This, DESNZ admits, makes it challenging to develop a clear and detailed understanding of the market to inform policy decisions.
The report is designed to provide a foundation for future research into areas such as retail routes, controls and smart operation, customer segmentation, which will support the understanding of the role air conditioning will play in future energy systems.
The DESNZ report focuses on the UK fixed active air conditioning market for both domestic and non-domestic buildings. It is based on interviews with manufacturers, distributors, trade bodies and wider stakeholders, held between November 2024 and February 2025.
It provides information on market sizes, technology trends, key market players, routes to market, and drivers and barriers. The technology covered includes splits, multi-splits, VRF and chillers. It excludes portable AC or hydronic heat pumps.
Based on 2024 figures, it estimates that around 64,000 UK homes have single-split and 7,000 homes have a multi-split system installed. This equates to just 0.24% of all UK homes. The number of VRF systems is estimated to be less than 15,000. The non-residential sector in the UK is estimated to comprise 2.6 million splits, 143,000 multi-splits, 306,000 VRF systems and 48,000 chillers.
The report recognises a number of barriers to market, not least of which is that air-to-air heat pumps are not currently fully recognised by all standards and policies. These include the lack of updates to MCS standards and tools and the current omission of air-to-air heat pumps from BUS.
It is also hampered by regulatory uncertainty created by the lack of an update to the F-gas regulations, concerns over the future of PFAS, and the benefits of occupant comfort via cooling not being reflected fully in building standards.
Other barriers are seen as being the insufficient number of trained and F-gas accredited installers, the unfamiliarity of UK homeowners with air-to-air heat pumps/reversible air conditioning split units, and installation and running costs.
The UK Space Cooling Market Landscape Update report can be viewed and downloaded here.
