Heat pumps dominate in German new builds
9th June 2024
GERMANY: Despite a recent 52% slump in sales, the heat pump is now the dominant heating system in new buildings in Germany.
Latest statistics from Germany’s federal statistical office reveal that nearly two thirds (64.6%) of the almost 96,800 residential buildings completed in Germany in 2023 used heat pumps for primary energy.
The share rose by 8 percentage points compared to 2022 and has more than doubled since 2014. Heat pumps were used in 68.9% of all single- and two-family houses completed in 2023, but were much less common in multi-family houses (41.1%).
The trend towards heating with renewable energies is also evident in the planning of new residential buildings. 80.7% of the approximately 67,900 residential buildings approved in 2023 are to be heated primarily with renewable energy. In most cases, these are heat pumps: they are to be used as the primary heating in 76.3% of the approved new buildings.
Over 400,000 heat pumps were manufactured in Germany last year, 14.0% more than in the previous year with just under 350,900 heat pumps. However, in the fourth quarter of 2023 the number of heat pumps produced was down 41.4% on the previous quarter and down 49.5% on the corresponding quarter in 2022.
Foreign trade in heat pumps also fell significantly in the first quarter of 2024. In 2023, heat pumps worth €1.0 billion were imported into Germany, an increase in value of 39.2% compared to the previous year. Recently, however, foreign trade in heat pumps has declined, with just under €163.4m of heat pumps imported in the first quarter of 2024. This corresponds to a decrease of 28.4% compared to the previous quarter, when heat pumps worth €228.1m were imported into Germany, and a decrease of 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year, when imports amounted to €253.4m.
A similar development can also be seen in the export of heat pumps. In 2023, heat pumps worth €802.5m were exported, an increase of 3.2% compared to the previous year. In the first quarter of 2024, heat pumps worth €117.5m were exported from Germany – 7.6% less than in the previous quarter (€127.2m) and 52% less than in the first quarter of 2023 (€244.8m).
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German heat pump sales down 52% – 3 May 2024
GERMANY: Heat pumps sales in Germany declined 52% in the first quarter of the year, according to new figures from the German heating industry association BDH. Read more…
