IEA released first report on heat pumps indicates significant for energy security/ Reduced gas consumption and climate change measures
International Energy Agency(IEA) has released its first report on heat pumps “The Future of Heat Pumps”.
The report explains with various data that shifting heat source of building air conditioner from fossil fuel to heat pump will help reduce natural gas consumption and contribute to energy security and climate change measures. It also presents a issue of expanding heat pumps.
The report emphasizes that EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels can be reduced by replacing gas and oil fueled boilers with heat pumps. The annual number of heat pumps installed in EU is expected to expand from 2 million in 2021 to 7 million by 2030 , which would reduce gas consumption by about 20 billion m3 .
On the other hand, the report stresses the importance of subsidies as initial cost of heat pumps is higher than the other heater appliances. As for running costs, the utility cost savings of households that shifted from gas boilers to heat pumps were three times higher in 2022 than in 2021 due to the soaring gas prices.