European heat pump sales rise 11% on energy price spike — SkimNews
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- European Heat Pump Association data showed residential heat pump sales reached 1.16m units in H1 across 12 countries (Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden), up 11% from 1.05m in H1 2025.
- The Iran war drove the demand surge: the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent crude oil as high as $126 a barrel in late April, disrupting oil and gas shipments to Europe.
- The European Commission published plans after the 28 February US-Israeli attacks on Iran encouraging EU governments to lower electricity taxes and speed up the shift from fossil fuels to renewables, including amending network charges to reward flexible options like heat pumps.
- EHPA Director General Paul Kenny said Europe is "ending its addiction to a toxic, costly drug from dodgy suppliers: gas" and called on all EU governments to drop electricity taxes and shift them to fossil fuels, following the Netherlands and Belgium.
- Germany's subsidy scheme has made heat pumps the No. 1 heating technology being installed, while Belgium still has low heat pump uptake despite announced 2026 tax changes that will cut electricity costs 3% and raise gas costs 3%.
- Tax disparities remain stark: in the UK, electricity costs more than four times as much as gas; in Romania, electricity is five times as high as gas, with the EHPA finding slower heat pump adoption in countries that tax electricity more heavily than gas.
Why it matters: The 1.16m heat pumps sold in H1 — an 11% jump — give EU governments hard evidence that pairing electricity tax cuts with high fossil fuel prices shifts household heating choices away from gas. EHPA's Kenny is now pressing all EU capitals to follow the Netherlands and Belgium, and the Commission's tax-parity push has fresh urgency with 1.16m adopters already on the books.
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