What’s hot (and cool) about heat pumps? - Zero Carbon Analytics

This guide by Zero Carbon Analytics explains the role of heat pumps in decarbonising buildings and industry, detailing their technical operation, economic viability, and the policy barriers to their global adoption.

• Heat pumps are highly energy-efficient electrical appliances that can provide heating, cooling, and hot water for buildings and industrial processes. They are significantly more efficient than traditional heaters, with a typical household unit producing four units of heat for every one unit of electricity used, making them three to five times more efficient than gas boilers.
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) identifies heat pumps as a fundamental component of sustainable buildings. If governments meet their climate targets, heat pumps are projected to provide nearly 20% of building heat by 2030, which would be double the current share.
• While heat pumps can be cheaper over their lifetime than gas boilers in countries such as the US, Korea, Japan, Italy, and China, high upfront purchase and installation costs remain a significant deterrent for consumers.
• Several critical barriers hinder the adoption of heat pumps, including poorly insulated buildings, a shortage of trained technicians, and grid capacity concerns. In the UK, for example, the number of heat pump engineers is estimated at 3,000, but would need to increase by 4,000-6,000 annually for the next six years to meet net-zero targets.
• Heat pumps can contribute to industrial decarbonisation, particularly in sectors requiring low-to-mid temperature heat (up to 160°C) such as the chemical, food, and paper industries. Current technology could potentially meet 10% of industrial energy demand.
• Many governments are implementing policies to accelerate rollout, including financial grants and bans on fossil fuel heating. The EU's REPowerEU plan aims to install 10 million heat pumps between 2023 and 2028, while Germany and the Netherlands have announced bans on 100% fossil fuel heating systems starting in 2024 and 2026, respectively.
• The use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as refrigerants in most heat pumps produced since the 1990s presents an environmental risk, as these are powerful greenhouse gases. Some HFCs are estimated to be 3,790 times more damaging than CO2 over a 20-year period if leaked or improperly handled.

APA

Team, Z. (2023). What’s hot (and cool) about heat pumps? - Zero Carbon Analytics. Zero Carbon Analytics. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/heat-pumps-and-climate-change/

Chicago

Team, ZCA. What’s hot (and cool) about heat pumps? - Zero Carbon Analytics. Zero Carbon Analytics, 2023. https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/heat-pumps-and-climate-change/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Team |first1=ZCA |title=What’s hot (and cool) about heat pumps? - Zero Carbon Analytics |publisher=Zero Carbon Analytics |date=20 July 2023 |url=https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/heat-pumps-and-climate-change/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{team2023whats, author = {Team, ZCA}, title = {{What’s hot (and cool) about heat pumps? - Zero Carbon Analytics}}, institution = {Zero Carbon Analytics}, year = {2023}, month = jul, url = {https://zerocarbon-analytics.org/energy/heat-pumps-and-climate-change/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }