by Brianna Crandall — September 1, 2014—Of interest to facilities owners and managers deciding on new heating systems, the world heat pump market increased 7.2% by volume in 2013 to almost 2 million units, according to a new report from nonprofit building research and consultancy organization BSRIA (owned by The Building Services Research and Information Association). BSRIA analyzed the market in 14 countries in North America, Europe and Asia for the report.
The growth was driven by the strong progression of sales of heat pump water heaters in the USA especially on the one hand, and the recovery of the European market on the other hand. However, in value terms, the market went down 6.9% in 2013 compared with 2012; BSRIA attributes the drop to the decrease in sales of large output units as well as increasing competition among suppliers.
In 2013 there was an increasing penetration of air-to-water cylinder integrated units, also known as heat pump water heaters; following almost 40% growth in 2012, the world market posted a 26.5% growth in 2013. However, this growth was mainly outside of Europe; within Europe the market size remained limited to a few thousand units.
Among the other air-to-water types, split systems continued to enjoy wide popularity, growing 15.6% globally. These units are dominating the sales in Europe notably, with small capacity products accounting for a significant share of the market. The growth appears to have taken place at the expense of monobloc systems, the volume of which decreased by 2% in Europe overall. The global demand for split unit systems was counterbalanced in China, where sales of monobloc heat pumps accelerated by 13.8%, resulting in a positive 5.1% growth worldwide.
Poor performance in the geothermal heat pump segment was again recorded at a global level in 2013. Despite a 5% rise in the U.S. and China markets, the sales declined within Europe, resulting in a reduced volume of 1%. High initial investment and lack of political support are stated as the major obstacles to the development of the ground-water heat pump market by suppliers.
Exhaust air heat pumps combined with heat recovery is still an emerging technology, notes BSRIA. Although widespread in Scandinavian countries, the technology has started to expand in Northern Europe as a means to reduce heat losses and energy consumption in building. Sales volumes are currently low, but growing at a 4.6% on average at global level.
World heat pump market outlook, sale by volume in units
(Click on image to enlarge)
In terms of outlook per technology, the fast economic growth in China is expected to drive the demand for monobloc heat pumps in the coming years, while the slow recovery of the new-build activity and the lack of investment in the renovation sector in Europe are likely to curb the expansion of the split and exhaust air market segments. Exhaust air and geothermal heat pumps are not forecast to achieve double-digit growth, expanding respectively 7.4% and 4.9% per year on average at global level over 2014-2017.
The tightening of product legislation either at European level (ErP) or in the United States is expected to boost sales of heat pump water heaters, resulting in a 17% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
BSRIA’s series of heat pump market reports is available from the organization’s Renewables Web page.
