Contents
- Heat pump adoption statistics: household penetration and regional differences
- Heat pump adoption statistics: UK retrofit installations and technology mix
- Heat pump adoption statistics: European sales and country trends
- Heat pump adoption statistics: installed heat pump stock across Europe
- Heat pump adoption statistics: U.S. homes using heat pumps as main heating
- Heat pump adoption statistics: U.S. heat pump shipments
- Sources
Heat pump adoption statistics: household penetration and regional differences
EHPA’s 2025 market report put heat pumps in around 12% of households across its 19-country coverage. That is a household penetration measure: it describes the share of households with a heat pump, rather than the share of annual heating equipment sales or the share of homes that use one as their main heating system. The report’s stated geographic coverage matters because the figure is not presented as a census of every European country. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
The same report illustrates how uneven adoption was among countries when measured as installed equipment per 1,000 households. Norway had approximately 630 installed heat pumps per 1,000 households in 2024, while Finland had just above 520. These are stock-density figures, not percentages of households: they count equipment relative to the number of households, so they should not be substituted for the report’s 12% household share. They also describe installed stock at a point in time, not units sold during 2024. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
Taken together, these indicators show why “adoption” can refer to distinct quantities. Household penetration is a share of households. Installed units per 1,000 households expresses stock relative to household count. Annual sales measure market activity during a period. A country can rank differently under each measure, and the figures here should be read according to their own definitions and periods. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
Heat pump adoption statistics: UK retrofit installations and technology mix
The UK’s June 2026 release recorded 20,895 in-scope domestic retrofit heat pump installations through the end of Q2 2026, covering April 1 to June 30. The figure is 22% below the 26,768 installations recorded through Q2 2025, but the equivalent 2026 period was nearly double the 10,605 recorded through Q2 2021. These comparisons describe the same April–June window in each year, rather than full-year totals. Source: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2026 – summary
The reported retrofit measure has specific boundaries. It covers domestic properties in the UK and MCS-certified technology types; new-build properties and non-MCS-certified retrofit installations are excluded. In-scope installations include both self-funded and supported work. The statistics are designated Official Statistics in development, a qualification relevant when interpreting the series. Source: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2026 – summary
Air-to-water heat pumps (AWHPs) represented 99% of recorded UK retrofit installations through Q2 2026. The corresponding share through Q2 2021 was 93%. These percentages describe the technology mix among the installations counted in the release; they do not represent shares of all UK homes or of all heating systems. Source: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2026 – summary
Regional figures show a concentration of recorded installations in parts of England. Through Q2 2026, the South East accounted for 18% of UK retrofit installations, the South West for 14%, and the East of England for 13%. These are regional shares of the UK total, not regional adoption rates adjusted for household numbers. Source: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2026 – summary
| UK region | Retrofit installations through Q2 2021 | Through Q2 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| London | 162 | 1,065 |
| South East | 1,126 | 3,673 |
Both columns cover April–June in the stated year. The release also noted Northern Ireland had 9 installations through Q2 2025 and 36 through Q2 2026. These are counts in the same reporting window, not annual totals. Source: Heat pump deployment statistics: June 2026 – summary
Heat pump adoption statistics: European sales and country trends
EHPA reported around 2.31 million heat pumps sold across its 19-country European comparison in 2024, 22% fewer than in 2023. The sales total and percentage change refer to that report’s defined country group. Within the country figures summarized by EHPA, the Czech Republic recorded a 64% decline and Germany a 48% decline in sales in 2024 compared with 2023. The UK moved in the opposite direction, with sales increasing 56%. These are annual sales changes, not changes in installed stock. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
The report also gave absolute 2024 sales totals for France and Italy: France recorded 546,000 heat pump sales, and Italy around 348,000. For a household-normalized view of annual sales, Norway recorded 48 sales per 1,000 households and Finland 33 in 2024. The absolute counts and per-household rates answer different questions; the latter provide a scale-adjusted comparison, while the former count units sold. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
EHPA’s technology figures for 2024 included 875,000 reversible air-to-air heat pumps and 668,000 heating-only air-to-water heat pumps sold in its 19-country market reporting. These are technology-specific sales totals. They are useful for describing the mix reported for those categories, but the figures listed here do not provide a complete breakdown of every technology type. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
A later EHPA release reported preliminary 2025 sales growth of 10.3% on average across 16 European countries. It put residential heat pump sales in those reporting countries at around 2.62 million in 2025. The 16-country preliminary release has different coverage from the earlier 19-country comparison. The two should not be treated as a single continuous series or used to infer a like-for-like change between the reported totals. Source: Heat pump sales testify to government action
Heat pump adoption statistics: installed heat pump stock across Europe
EHPA’s 2025 report said its latest figures for 19 countries added up to around 25.5 million installed heat pumps in Europe. In the country comparison, France had a stock of around 6.5 million and Italy just under 4.2 million. These are installed-stock measures reported in 2025, primarily reflecting 2024 stock; they are not annual sales totals. The 25.5 million figure applies to the 19 countries covered by that comparison, not necessarily every country in Europe. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
EHPA’s later release said that around 2.62 million residential heat pumps sold in 2025 across its 16 reporting countries brought Europe’s total installed stock to around 28 million. This is a separate published estimate with different reporting context and country coverage from the earlier 19-country stock comparison. The figures establish two reported stock levels, but they do not provide a harmonized country-by-country bridge between them. Source: Heat pump sales testify to government action
The household penetration and stock figures are complementary, but they should not be collapsed into one measure. Stock counts equipment, while household penetration reports the proportion of households with a heat pump. The EHPA report’s Norway and Finland rates also use units per 1,000 households, which can exceed 1,000 in principle when households have multiple units; they are not household percentages. Source: EHPA market report 2025 — executive summary
Heat pump adoption statistics: U.S. homes using heat pumps as main heating
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey estimated that 16.13 million primary-occupied housing units used a heat pump as their main heating equipment. The table reports estimates in millions of housing units, not a percentage of homes. Its U.S. scope is the 50 states and District of Columbia, and excludes vacant, seasonal, and second homes, military housing, and group quarters. The supplied table is from 2020; it does not establish a newer U.S. main-heating count. Source: EIA Table HC6.1 — Space heating in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020
| Housing unit type | Heat pump as main heating (millions) | Ductless heat pump (mini-split) as main heating (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| Total U.S. | 16.13 | 1.06 |
| Single-family detached | 10.01 | 0.54 |
| Single-family attached | 0.75 | 0.07 |
| Apartments, 2–4 unit building | 0.92 | Not reported here |
| Apartments, 5 or more unit building | 2.87 | 0.31 |
| Mobile home | 1.58 | Not reported here |
The main-heating equipment table includes ductless heat pumps as a separately identified equipment row. In 2020, 1.06 million U.S. primary-occupied housing units used a ductless heat pump, or mini-split, as their main heating equipment. The listed housing-type estimates include 0.54 million detached single-family units, 0.07 million attached single-family units, and 0.31 million apartments in buildings with 5 or more units. Values for apartments in 2–4 unit buildings and mobile homes are not included here because no checked mini-split figures were supplied for those types. Source: EIA Table HC6.1 — Space heating in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020
For the broader heat pump row, the housing-type estimates were 10.01 million detached single-family units, 0.75 million attached single-family units, 0.92 million apartments in 2–4 unit buildings, 2.87 million apartments in buildings with 5 or more units, and 1.58 million mobile homes. Keeping the unit as “millions of housing units” avoids implying these figures are percentages or counts of equipment devices. The survey’s main-heating definition also means they do not capture every home with a heat pump used for supplemental heating. Source: EIA Table HC6.1 — Space heating in U.S. homes, by housing unit type, 2020
Heat pump adoption statistics: U.S. heat pump shipments
AHRI’s October 2025 release reported 3,226,820 U.S. manufacturer shipments of central air-source heat pumps year to date through October 2025. The comparable January–October counts were 3,581,109 in 2024 and 3,213,895 in 2023. The 2025 year-to-date total was 9.9% below the same period in 2024. These are shipment counts from participating AHRI member companies to customers in the 50 states and District of Columbia, not installations, household adoption, or a count of units currently operating. Source: AHRI October 2025 U.S. heating and cooling equipment shipment data
| Shipment period | Central air-source heat pumps shipped |
|---|---|
| January–October 2023 | 3,213,895 |
| January–October 2024 | 3,581,109 |
| January–October 2025 | 3,226,820 |
For October alone, reported U.S. air-source heat pump shipments were 209,883 units in 2025, compared with 365,388 in October 2024. The release reported a 42.6% year-over-year decline for that month. Monthly shipment movement and the year-to-date comparison describe different periods, so the October result should not be substituted for the January–October trend. AHRI notes that member-company shipment statistics may be revised. Source: AHRI October 2025 U.S. heating and cooling equipment shipment data