Germany
Member Country Report 10 September 2024
Germany’s Heat Pump Market: Growth and High Costs
Germany has seen considerable growth in the heat pump sector, particularly in new residential builds. Between 2021 and 2023, sales of domestic hot water heat pumps surged by 81%, reflecting a nationwide push toward sustainable heating solutions. However, the market faced a slowdown in 2024, with heat pump installations declining by 54% in the first half of the year.
Germany’s updated Climate Change Act aims for climate neutrality by 2045 and a 65% reduction in emissions by 2030. Incentive programs support the replacement of outdated gas and oil heating systems, but the high cost of electricity continues to be a major barrier for the widespread adoption of heat pumps. The price ratio between electricity and gas remains unfavorable, making it challenging for consumers to switch to heat pumps, especially in rural areas. Click here to get access to the presentation:
Member Country Report March 2023
On March 14, 2023 Germany did a presentation of their Member Country Report. Click on link to download presentation: 230314 MCR Germany presentation 2023 v3
Market Report 2022 written by Dr Rainer M. Jakobs, Information Centre on Heat Pumps and Refrigeration e.V., Germany.
Download the report here >
Member Country Report, Market Overview, Germany – September 7, 2021.
The Member Country Report of Germany included a market overview. Several universities, research organizations, and industrial enterprises in Germany are working on heat pump technologies. Heat pumps account for more than half of all heating systems installed in new buildings. There is even more potential in the building stock; a government scheme rewards property owners who replace older oil-fired central heating systems, which is one of the key catalysts for heat pump implementation. Air to water heat pumps currently accounts for about 80% of the market in Germany. High electricity prices compared to gas and oil, like in the UK, are a significant hurdle for heat pumps. According to their research, roughly 842,000 heating systems were installed in one year in 2020 for new and existing buildings, as well as replacement. Thanks to the government’s support system, the number of heat pump sales have increased dramatically from 100,000 in 2019 to 140,000 in 2020. Download the presentation here.
Read Marek Miaras blog posts on Fraunhofer ISE’s blog “Innovation4E”, 2021.
Heat pumps in existing buildings, a blog post series in 12 parts
Episode 2: Are heat pumps able to deliver sufficiently high temperatures in the heating circuit?
Episode 3: Does a house have to be renovated first in order to install a heat pump?
Episode 4: How well do heat pumps really work in existing buildings?
Episode 5: How much does the use of back-up heaters reduce the efficiency of heat pumps?
Episode 6: How well have heat pumps performed in practice in partially refurbished and unrefurbished buildings?
Episode 7: How ecological are heat pumps in existing buildings?
Episode 8: Isn’t heating with heat pumps too expensive?
Episode 9: Is it worth waiting for technological developments before switching to a heat pump?
Episode 10: Is it better to combine a heat pump with fossil heating in some cases?
Episode 11: Can heat pumps only be used in one- and two-family houses?
Episode 12: How do we get more heat pumps in existing buildings?
Annex 45 – Hybrid Heat Pumps: Country report – Germany (2019). Download the Country report for Germany here.
Heat Pumps in Smart Grids: Market overview – Country report for Germany (2017). Download the “Market overview – Country report for Germany” here.
Some aspects for future challenges of the heat pumping technology (2012). Download the presentation here.
Research
The Energy Research Programme in Germany (2006). Download the presentation here.