Web dossier

Pump it up!

Heat pumps: Affordable renewable heating and cooling for Europe

The European Commission’s Electrification Action Plan and a dedicated Heating & Cooling Strategy must help removing the many political and financial hurdles to renewable heating. Citizens in the EU still depend largely on fossil gas and other fossil fuels to keep their homes warm. After the massive increase of fossil gas prices in 2022, another global fossil fuel price crisis unfolds. There are clean and affordable domestic alternatives for heating, such as solar thermal energy, sustainable bioenergy and geothermal and ambient energy. Using renewable electricity for heating is the solution for cutting both emissions and households’ energy bills. The electric heat pump is the key technology, using electricity to pump up the temperature level of ambient or geothermal heat.

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Clickable infographic

Europe cannot afford fossil fuels for heating our homes. The good news: We have an abundant potential of domestic renewable energy sources. The infographic shows how heat pumps replace fossil fuels. They can run on renewable power from the electricity grid or from solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftop and tap into the different renewable heat sources such as ambient air, geothermal heat or warm waste water. Like other renewable heat suppliers, they can also feed into district heat networks that connect different consumers. We explain which solutions make these technologies accessible for all.

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Affordable renewable heating with heat pumps

Infographic

Jörg Mühlenhoff, Joan Lanfranco

Related content

Can heat pumps be accessible for all?

Factsheet

Heat pumps can reduce emissions, cut fossil fuel use and lower energy bills – but they remain unaffordable for many Europeans. High upfront costs and complex installations slow adoption, leaving low-income households behind. Could social leasing and on-bill financing make clean heating accessible to all?

Marine Cornelis

Heat pumps: phases of transition differ strongly among countries in Europe

Analysis

There are good reasons to wish for a future with more heat pumps: less fossil gas in the heating sector and therefore less methane leakage and less CO2 and NOx emissions; lower costs for households; and more energy independence for nations. Most of this works best with powering the heat pumps with a bigger share of renewables. In Europe, heat pumps boomed until 2023 and then dipped to 2020 or 2021 levels in 2024. Starting points and paces of change in the heat pump market differ wildly. Let’s have a virtual trip to Sweden, France and Germany and find out why those timelines are so different.

Andreas Bäumer

Citizens' fair participation in the EU energy transition

Infographic

The energy transition can help people save money through solar panels, energy-efficient homes and electric transport. But not everyone can afford these new technologies. The EU has rules and support to make the transition fair for everyone. Our infographic shows how people can benefit and protect themselves from rising fossil fuel prices.

Jörg Mühlenhoff, Joan Lanfranco

Denmark’s giant heat pump will heat 25,000 homes – with seawater

Commentary

Most observers think of heat pumps as small-scale heating systems for houses, businesses and apartment buildings. But XXL heat pumps are already in service and doing the same job for whole city districts. Their practice, if successful, will be an important asset in decarbonising societies and economies. Paul Hockenos reports.

Paul Hockenos

Why the British are still heat pump sceptics

Commentary

Most Britons have no intention of installing a heat pump. Given the cost of electricity in the UK, that’s not unreasonable. Ros Taylor looks at why it is so hard to tempt them away from gas boilers.

Ros Taylor

Solar panels and wind power generation equipment

Delivering a fair household energy transition: learning and priorities

Analysis

The green technologies needed to rapidly cut our greenhouse gas emissions are already on the market. What’s more, they are, or very soon will be, cost effective. In other words, from the perspective of the household, it is, overall, cheaper to go green. However, there’s a catch: access to capital is king in the household energy transition.

Alex Chapman

Climate protection? Yes please, but not in my cellar!

Commentary

Opinion polls show Germans worried about the climate crisis and in favor of more climate action. The fallout of global warming is one of their most pressing concerns, indeed as it is across Europe. And yet, when it comes to modifying lifestyles or paying higher prices to curb emissions, most say they’re not willing, or only as much as it doesn’t sting. Paul Hockenos reports.

Paul Hockenos

The 100% Renewable Energy Action Plan for the European Commission 2024-2029

Policy recommendations

The climate crisis and energy price explosion have made it clear: the EU cannot afford its dependency on fossil fuels anymore. How to deal with these enormous challenges? Our 100% Renewable Action Plan for the European Commission 2024-2029 describes what needs to happen to harvest the benefits of renewables.

Julian Schwartzkopff, Jonas Ott