Heat pump installations up 25% in Germany in first half 2022 while gas heating sales slump

Deliveries of heat pumps are up 25 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, challenging the dominance of gas-fired heating system in German homes. Gas heater sales fell particularly steeply, by 10 percent, in the second quarter of 2022 – compared to the same period in 2021, figures from the Federal Association of German Heating Industry (BDH) analysed by the business daily Handelsblatt showed. The news outlet said this transition is politically pleasing: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz was recently seen fixing a screw into an almost-built heat pump during a visit to the production hall of German heating manufacturer Viessmann, as a sign of support.

High electricity prices and heat pumps’ expensive installation costs have not deterred customers, who are still turning to them as an alternative to gas, for which prices have been rising even quicker. There was a 4 percent increase in the share of heat pump heating systems in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, according to BDH figures. Thomas Nowak, secretary general at the European Heat Pump Association, called the figure “remarkable", while heating manufacturer Valiant has said heat pumps are currently the company’s fastest-growing product category. However, supply problems pose an obstacle to mass distribution. A spokesperson for the German Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning Association (ZVSHK) said that “if you order a heat pump today, you can’t expect it to be installed until spring of next year at the earliest.”

The German government currently plans to install half a million new heat pumps a year – a target that has been described as “ambitious but feasible” by the industry. Heat pumps have become increasingly recognised as important alternatives to gas heating systems in Europe ever since gas supplies from Russia began dwindling