Booming heat pump demand hampered by global shortage of supply March 2022

Strong performance as Covid-19 restrictions lifted

The end of Covid restrictions gave momentum to the HVAC and building industry. Construction projects restarted and reignited the push for more carbon-neutral buildings. Renovation works flourished, supported by rising energy prices and financial incentives.

Overall market performance shows a significant increase in the demand for hydronic heat pumps in all the European countries as well as in the US in 2021. In China, despite the recovery from 2020 Covid crisis, growth remained subdued, but sales still reached over 1.7 million units.

 Domestic Heat Pump Market, volume (units sold) and growth rate per region

Both small and large capacity heat pumps have benefitted from stricter policy when it comes to building standards and energy consumptions as the latest BSRIA data revealed.

Nevertheless, such dramatic growth rates have put the supply chain under heavy pressure.

Energy, components, and skilled installers on high demand

The reopening of all sectors of the economy around mid-2021 intensified the demand for raw materials. HVAC producers as well as producers in other industries were all running low on steel, aluminium, brass, and copper, which are required for the production of valves, compressors, pumps and electronic components.

The rush to put the production engine back on track turned the energy market upside down. With gas storage at low levels due to Covid-lockdowns, energy prices reached historical highs over summer 2021 and of course the pressure is only intensifying in 2022. This was another trigger for households and public authorities to invest in heat pumps.

With very high demand and low supply at the same time, heat pump suppliers, particularly in Europe, faced up to 6-month delays for their products to be delivered, whilst attracting staff and trained installers continues to be challenging.

Heat Pump Market Intelligence

BSRIA Worldwide Market Intelligence (WMI) continues to expand the scope of its heat pump studies; in its 2022 edition large commercial heat pumps with capacity from 51kW to 350kW have been covered in addition to the domestic heat pump units.

Each heat pump report provides key market information needed to carry out strategic analysis. This includes information on market size by volume and value per product types, drivers and obstacles affecting the local market, medium term forecast, breakdown by capacity, flow temperature and analysis of the market supply. Applications, verticals, and distribution routes all form part of the content of the reports, with refrigerant trends also included in recent years as manufacturers search for the best solutions in an ever more environmentally conscious world.

For further information about BSRIA’s heat pumps or other reports, please contact us on:

European sales enquiries: BSRIA UK: wmi@bsria.co.uk ¦ +44 (0) 1344 465 540 www.bsria.com/uk/

America sales enquiries: BSRIA USA: sales@bsria.com ¦ +1 312 753 6803 www.bsria.com/us/

China sales enquiries: BSRIA China: bsria@bsria.com.cn ¦ +86 10 6465 7707 www.bsria.com/cn/