Prospect for "decade of the heat pump" in Germany excites producers

German households are increasingly switching to electric heat pumps when upgrading their heating systems and analysts predict demand will continue to grow, Handelsblatt reports. Heat pump sales grew 30 percent to 156,000 units last year, according to the Federation of German Heating Industry (BDH). This figure is much higher than sales of gas and oil heating systems, which grew 6 and 2 percent, respectively, Handelsblatt notes. Only biomass heating increased more, with a growth of 33 percent to 72,000 units due mainly to the great demand for pellet solutions. Handelsblatt points to the success of heat pump manufacturer Stiebel Eltron in Lower Saxony, which is aiming to double production capacity by 2026, investing 120 million euros in its expansion and creating 400 new jobs. Many German households have invested in new heat pump systems throughout the pandemic, Stiebel Eltron managing directorNicholas Matten told the newspaper.. “We want to accelerate the growth even more," Matten said. "We are facing a decade of the heat pump."The trendwas also visible in 2020, when heat pump sales grew by 40 percent to 120,000 units, according to the BDH.

While electricity costs play a significant role for consumers, the new German government plans to abolish the Renewable Energy Act surcharge, which is added to monthly electric bills, from January 2023 onwards. The government expects electricity demand in Germany to reach between 680 and 750 terawatt-hours (TWh) by 2030, with some 80 percent of that to come from renewable sources. By comparison, in 2020 electricity consumption in Germany reached 545 TWh. Accounting for some 30 percent of CO2 emissions, the building sector plays a key role in the fight against climate change.