Heating and cooling account for around half of the EU’s total energy consumption, and more than 70% of this demand is still met by fossil fuels. Heat pumps offer a sustainable alternative: they are three to five times more energy efficient than gas boilers and make greater use of renewable energy by extracting heat from the air, ground or water. However, higher upfront costs as well as high prices of electricity in some markets can sometimes hold back their rollout. 

Install.res, a LIFE Clean Energy Transition project coordinated by the Austrian Energy Agency, is working to change this by strengthening the business case for heat pumps. It is focusing on existing buildings, where costs, a lack of trusted information and complex installation processes can delay the shift away from fossil-based heating. 

Insall.res Coordinator Herbert Tretter said on International Day of Clean Energy: “Heat pumps are a cornerstone of Europe’s clean energy transition, but their full potential will only be realised if they are simple, affordable and accessible in existing buildings. Through Install.res, we are showing how practical solutions and innovative financing can help households and housing providers switch to clean heating with confidence.” 

The project is implementing real-life demonstration cases across several European countries, working with housing providers, energy agencies and financial actors to test integrated solutions. These pilots combine different heat pump technologies – including air- and ground-source systems, centralised and decentralised configurations and solutions for space heating and domestic hot water – with 12 different business models, such as leasing, heating-as-a-service and joint purchasing. The project has already produced a catalogue of alternative business models and systems designed to reduce high upfront costs, and will now translate these findings into practical guidelines and decision-support tools that can be replicated beyond the project’s lifetime. 

Another key result from Install.res is that technology alone cannot deliver Europe’s clean heating transition. Even efficient heat pumps remain out of reach without affordable and accessible business models. The project shows that several of the 12 models, particularly service-based and bundled offers that reduce upfront costs and shift risk away from end users, can make clean heating both feasible and commercially attractive – when matched with the right heat pump solution. 

“Making heat pumps simple, affordable and financialy viable is the key to unlocking Europe’s clean heating potential,” said Herbet. 

Heat pumps are central to Europe’s energy ambitions due to their ability to cut greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy bills and reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels. Supported by the European Green Deal, the EU Affordable Housing Plan and the Renewable Energy Directive, among others, projects like Install.res help translate EU policy ambitions into practical solutions – grounded in a viable business case.