Because aiming only at heat pumps to eliminate Russian gas is not enough

Because aiming only at heat pumps to eliminate Russian gas is not enough

Gas costs soar and demand for heat pumps “explodes” across Europe. However, this has raised a number of problems. And no, focusing only on heat pumps cannot be the strategy to eliminate Russian gas


He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

Europeans are turning to heat pumps to get around the problem of gas whose prices are skyrocketing, and which remains an uncertain supply. The demand has literally "exploded" and this has brought out all the problems related to the production of this technology. However, that alone cannot be enough to eliminate Russian gas.




The war in Ukraine continues and Vladimir Putin threatens to demand payment of gas in rubles in response to the sanctions that the West has imposed on Russia, which, in turn, have caused the exchange rate of the Russian currency to collapse against the euro and to the dollar.

The extremely heavy situation is having repercussions on gas costs, which in any case had risen a lot even before the war. This is why European citizens have literally blown up the demand for heat pumps (already increased by 7.4% in 2020).

Read also: Why the war in Ukraine hits us in the face what we have not done with renewables

But, as stated on the website of the European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, this attempt is not enough and is bringing out many problems related to production.

What are heat pumps

Heat pumps, sometimes described as reverse air conditioners, use electricity to generate heat and are relatively more efficient from an energy point of view compared to gas boilers.

As Assoclima explains the heat pump is one renewable technology because it performs the functions of air conditioning, heating and production of domestic hot water, exploiting the free and unlimited heat accumulated in the air, surface water, underground aquifers and the ground.

On this, however, there is the alert of Directive 2009 / 28 / EC which specifies:

Heat pumps that allow the use of aerothermal, geothermal or hydrothermal heat at a useful temperature level need electricity or other auxiliary energy to function. The energy used to run the heat pumps should therefore be deducted from the total usable heat. Only heat pumps whose heat efficiency significantly exceeds the primary energy they need to operate should be considered.



Having said that, the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) actually already in 2015 claimed that 54 million heat pumps could significantly reduce Europe's energy dependence on fossil fuels in the heating sector.

Because we can't just rely on heat pumps

However, the situation is becoming unmanageable: in Germany alone there are 20 million gas boilers against 17 million heat pumps throughout Europe. It goes without saying that replacing all gas boilers with heat pumps is practically impossible.

There are indeed not a few bottlenecks which limit the industry's ability to supply technology, including the shortage of skilled labor, as well as the need to simultaneously insulate buildings to ensure maximum efficiency.

We need a gas reduction strategy and one that really has an effect - the German Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck said on March 20 - This means that we should stop installing new gas heating systems in homes

In fact, last December the new German government decided that any new heating system installed after 1 January 2025 should run on renewable energy. The industry intended this benchmark as a implicit mandate for heat pumps.

But it really isn't and it shouldn't be. There are also other renewable technologies that can help Europe to limit energy dependence, in particular for heating, solar thermal panels are also a valid alternative.


Read also: Even for thermal solar panels you can ask for a tax deduction, here's how 


On renewables in general, however, the efforts, which probably should have started a long time ago, remain insufficient.

Sources: European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy / European Heat Pump Association

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