Only5mins! – Europe’s hottest heat pump markets
pv magazine speaks to Jan Rosenow, principal and director of European programs for the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), about Europe’s top heat pump markets. He says Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Germany and Finland posted the strongest growth in 2022.
LG unveils heat pump for water heating
LG has developed an air source heat pump with the capacity to heat 200 liters to 270 liters of domestic water. It uses R134a as a refrigerant and the pump has a coefficient of performance (COP) of up to 3.85.
Steam-generating heat pump for industrial applications
The Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) plans to build a heat pump that generates steam at 184 C at 11 bars without using gas. The tech, which uses natural refrigerants, will be used in the pharmaceutical industry.
PV-powered heat pump, refrigerator system for off-grid applications
South Africa scientists have developed an integrated, solar-powered heat pump and refrigerator for use by food vendors in sub-Saharan Africa. The dual system is powered by two 90 W solar modules and repurposes waste heat.
Germany’s new rebate program for residential heat pumps has come into effect
A set of amendments to Germany’s law that offer a rebate program for sustainable heating has come into effect on January 1st. The new rules grant rebates of up to 40% to help homeowners to buy and install heat pumps.
French startup unveils new residential thermo-acoustic heat pump
Equium has developed a new thermo-acoustic heat pump core that reportedly produces 3 kW to 4 kW of heat for every kilowatt of power it consumes. It says the refrigerant-free device could generate domestic hot water at temperatures of up to 80 C.
Fraunhofer ISE to develop propane heat pumps for residential homes
Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy and a group of heat pump manufacturers have started a project to replace gas and oil heating systems in multi-family homes with propane heat pumps featuring low-charge propane (R290) as the refrigerant.
Belgium’s Flanders region to slash solar, storage premium in 2023
The Flemish government will halve the solar panels premium from a maximum of €1,500 ($1,594) in 2022 to €750 from Jan. 1, 2023. It will also end the home battery premium earlier than initially announced, from April 2023. The premium for heat pump boilers, on the other hand, will be retroactively doubled.
PV-powered residential air-source heat pump with PCM thermal storage
A UK research group has proposed the combination of solar-powered heat pumps and thermal storage based on phase-change materials for residential applications. They said such a system could facilitate cost savings of up to 39%.
Heat pumps competitive with gas boilers in some markets, says IEA
Th International Energy Agency (IEA) says unsubsidized heat pumps are already competitive with gas boilers in mature markets like the United States, Canada, Japan, Italy, and China. It says global sales will soar to record levels by 2030.
