Number of heat pumps in operation in the EU 2013-2020

The amount of heat pumps in operation in the European Union (EU) has continuously increased over the years, both aerothermal and ground source heat pumps. The number of operating heat pumps in the EU has increased from ********** in 2013 to ************ in 2020. Throughout the whole timeline, aerothermal heat pumps were by far the most common than ground source heat pumps.

The heat pump market in the EU
The volume of heat pump sales in Europe has been steadily rising over the last years, growing from *********** units sold in 2016 to ************ in 2020. The number of operational heat pumps in Italy reached approximately ********** units in 2020. In contrast, in Hungary there were only ****** units heat pumps in operation.


The environmental impact of heat pumps
A big share of households in major European countries depend on fossil fuel sources for their heating systems. For instance, natural gas and heating oil accounted for about ** percent of household heating sources in Germany in 2020. Because of this, heating is the biggest contributor to residential CO2 emissions in some of those countries. In fact, around ** percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019 came from the residential sector. Transitioning to energy-efficient electric heat pumps has a lot of potential for the reduction of the environmental impact of European buildings.