Heat pump sales up 11% across European 16

BELGIUM: Heat pump sales grew by 11% across 16 European countries on average last year, according to preliminary data from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA). 

Around 2.63 million residential heat pumps were sold, up from 2.38 million in those countries in 2024 and bringing the total installed in Europe to around 28 million.

Twelve of the 16 countries installed more heat pumps in 2025 than in 2024. This is largely due to those governments having stabilised subsidy schemes and taken action on costs, for example by reducing tax on power bills. 

For example, in Belgium a combination of new restrictions on fossil fuel heating and a VAT reduction on heat pumps in new buildings saw an increase in sales of 7% to 111,000 units. Similarly, the UK’s continued policy support – via the Boiler Upgrade Scheme and new Warm Homes plan – has helped bring up heat pump sales by 27%, to 125,000 units.

“It’s government 101 that taxation is how you change behaviour,” observed EHPA director genera Paul Kenny. “European countries need to move fast to reduce taxes on heat pumps and electricity so they become the most competitive choice. This must be consolidated through stable policies. This is how Europe can move its energy system from import dependency on unpredictable actors to sustainable self-supply. The weekend’s events in Iran show the need for this more clearly than ever.”

Kenny went on to pinpoint the European Commission’s upcoming heating and cooling strategy and electrification action plan as “great opportunities” to encourage governments to reduce electricity tax faster, judging by its clear impact on the domestic manufacturing of both residential and industrial heat pumps.

In Germany last year a record was broken as heat pumps accounted for almost half of all heat generators sold. The EHPA maintains that this is due to increasing consumer confidence in the technology after the previous politicisation of heating, and the role of heat pumps in energy security.

In contrast, in Poland where there is much disinformation about heat pumps, and in France where government budgets and the heat pump support scheme were in flux, sales fell in 2025.

In terms of sales compared to the population size, the biggest markets remain Norway, Finland and Sweden with over 30 heat pumps sold per 1,000 households. The smallest are Poland and the UK with under five.

The countries surveyed were Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.