European heat pump sales down 23% in 2024
19th February 2025
BELGIUM: The European heat pump sector has declared itself down but far from out after sales figures show an average 23% drop in 2024.
Preliminary figures from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) covering 13 European countries, which make up around 85% of the European market, reveal that 2 million heat pumps were sold in 2024, down from 2.6 million in 2023. This brings the total stock to around 26 million, slowing the heating market shift from fossil fuels to heat pumps.
The countries covered are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the UK.
The countries experiencing the sharpest drops were Belgium with 52% lower sales and Germany with 48%. Only the UK bucked the trend, where heat pump sales grew 63% thanks to supportive government schemes.
The sector is reported to be slashing jobs and reducing production in Europe after investing billions in additional capacity in 2022 and 2023 to bolster Europe’s energy security and cut the use of Russian gas. Much of this capacity now lies idle, it says, harming the competitiveness that policy makers are so keen to bolster.
The EHPA claims that at least 4,000 jobs have been cut with over 6,000 more suffering impacts. Overall, the sector provides around 170,000 direct jobs in Europe.
Three reasons are blamed for the drop: a change in government support schemes for heat pumps, a sluggish economy and cost of living crisis, and the low price of subsidised gas.
A defiant Paul Kenny, director general of the EHPA said: “The heat pump sector is down but far from out. Consumers want clean heat and comfortable homes, and they want to support European jobs and energy independence. As soon as they can see it’s possible thanks to supportive EU and national policies, and taxes which penalise fossil fuels not people, they show this by turning to heat pumps.
“We count on the EU Commission and governments to deliver in the coming months, starting by putting heat pumps front and centre of the upcoming Clean Industrial Deal, and supporting European clean tech leadership,” said Kenny.
