Heat pumps avoid 5.5bcm of gas per year
25th September 2024BELGIUM: The 24 million heat pumps currently installed in Europe avoid 5.5 billion m3 of gas per year or 1.6% of the EU’s total annual gas consumption.
According to the new information from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), these same heat pumps are also avoiding 45Mt of CO2 emissions in Europe every year. This is around 4.9% of total EU emissions for buildings – the same amount as Hungary’s annual output.
Despite European sales of heat pumps being down 47% in the first half of 2024, if the EU meets its 2030 ambition of 60 million installed heat pumps, they will be saving 112Mt of CO2 emissions and 13.7 billion m3 of gas per year.
Speaking on the opening day of the EHPA’s 2024 Heat Pump Forum, director general Paul Kenny said: “There’s no future in fossil fuels – on economic, geopolitical or climate grounds. Both to ensure Europe’s long-term competitiveness and to eliminate coal, oil and gas in the heating and cooling sector we need to reverse the slowing heat pump market urgently.
“The new EU Commission should publish the long-awaited EU Heat Pump Action Plan, ensuring it supports manufacturing and training. What’s more, offering flexible electricity tariffs so households and businesses with heat pumps can choose to use power when it costs less, which would be good for consumers and the grid,” added Kenny.
Gas avoidance varies between member states due to each country’s energy mixes. At national level, most gas is avoided by installing a heat pump in Luxembourg, and least in Cyprus. As for the overall climate benefits of heat pumps, they are strongest in Austria.
Alongside their contribution to decarbonisation, heat pumps are an important part of Europe’s clean tech leadership, with a strong and competitive domestic industry boasting nearly 300 manufacturing sites.
