Snapshots

Supportive policies driving strong heat pump sales

With more than 90% of homes relying on fossil gas for heating, the Netherlands is one of Europe's most gas-dependent countries. Combusting fossil gas in Dutch homes accounted for around 15% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions in 2021. The government plans to take 25% of its 8 million homes off the gas grid by 2030, with a target to remove gas from residential buildings entirely by 2050.

Political and industry leaders have recognised heat pumps as a key renewable energy technology to help transition homes away from fossil gas. In 2023, more than 150,000 heat pump units were sold in the Netherlands, up 53% from 2022 levels. (p See Figure 23.) This occurred at a time when many European countries saw their heat pump sales stagnate or even contract.

Although the ambitious gas phase-out played a rolein the Dutch heat pump transition, supportive policy has been crucial. In recent years, the Netherlands has put in place supportive grants (starting in 2016), energy pricing and regulatory reform that resulted in widespread heat pump uptake. Efforts to rebalance energy prices of fossil gas and electricity have allowed heat pumps to become a more economic option for Dutch households, contrary to those in Belgium and Germany.

The Netherlands also announced in 2018 that new buildings must be fossil gas-free, and reached a government agreement in 2021 to make “hybrid heat pumps”, a configuration where a heat pump operates in parallel with a gas boiler, the minimum performance standard for existing buildings. This new law was a result of effective collaboration between government, industry and civil society.

FIGURE 23.Heat Pump Sales in the Netherlands, 2013-2023