According to the figures for the first half of the current year, the market for heat pumps would be in crisis. In any case, this is what emerges from the latest report from Renouvelle, a site specializing in sustainable energy news in Belgium.
Meanwhile, sales of coil and gas boilers experience a certain increase. A worrying situation, especially since heat pumps are currently considered one of the vectors of decarbonization.
The plummeting heat pump market
According to the Renouvelle website, sales of heat pumps will be in free fall during the first half of 2024. For Climafed, the Belgian federation of climate technologies, this drop would be worrying, while many hopes are placed on this heating system to achieve the set decarbonization objective.
It should be emphasized that this is not a simple decline. Compared to the first half of 2023, it would even be dizzying, since sales would have fallen by no less than 50% over the same period in 2024. Meanwhile, sales of coil and gas boilers increased by 8%.
In absolute figures, the state of the market went from 29,800 to 16,200 heat pumps installedunderlined Climafed. That said, the federation wants to be optimistic and indicates that it is necessary to put this fall into perspective, since 2022 and 2023 had been exceptional years for heat pump sales. The pandemic period, the war in Europe, as well as the uncertainties linked to energy supplies, have in fact stimulated the market, the organization said.
How to explain this fall?
The decline in heat pump sales and the increase in those gas and oil boilers would simply be linked to a question of cost. Indeed, a heat pump, even if it draws energy to produce heat or cold, needs electricity. And sometimes, a lot of electricity. In the absence of photovoltaic panelsenergy consumption is likely to increase significantly.
You should also know that electricity currently costs 30 cents per kWh, while gas and oil only cost 8 cents per kWh. This makes electricity almost four times more expensive, which makes the transition to heat pumps economically unattractive, despite their greater energy efficiency, explained Climafed. Despite this observation, the sector does not want to give up. According to the federation, heat pumps are generally considered to be one of the most effective solutions for decarbonizing heating.
