Two main pollutants associated with residential heating and cooling are nitrogen oxides (NOx) which worsen respiratory diseases – and tiny particles, PM2.5 which cannot be filtered by the lungs, and which lead to a range of diseases and risk of death.
Switching a gas boiler for a heat pump slashes the related NOx air pollution by 75 percent, and changing a wood burning stove for a heat pump cuts PM2.5 by 99 percent.
“Having a polluting heat source in your home harms you in the place you should be safest” said Paul Kenny, director general of the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA). “Rolling out heat pumps faster, with a focus on supporting the poorest first, helps people’s wellbeing and sets them up for the future, which will inevitably be fossil-free.”
The 23.2 million heat pumps installed in Europe currently for space heating are avoiding around 3.5 billion euros per year in costs from air pollution. The impact is greatest in countries where the heating mix is most dependent on wood as a fuel – such as Finland, the Baltics and Poland.
If the EU meets its 2030 target of 60 million heat pumps, 8.9 billion euros could be saved each year on air pollution related health costs.
To unlock this clear win for EU citizens’ health and the economy, heat pump uptake must be accelerated. EHPA’s latest figures show a 9 percent annual growth in heat pump sales in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Heat pump sales for the whole of 2024, however, dropped 22 percent compared to 2023. The underlines the need for EU support in the deployment of this critical heating and cooling solution.
In early 2026, the European Commission will publish its Heating and Cooling Strategy and Electrification Action Plan, which are key opportunities to put the right measures in place to boost heat pump roll-out. The implementation of the Emissions Trading System 2 which will put a price on carbon from buildings from 2027, and the already agreed climate and energy laws for 2030, is also crucial.
“Heat pumps need to become the obvious choice for end users” said Kenny. “Affordable, simple to find out about and easy to have installed! EU policy-makers and governments need to ensure support schemes are in place, electricity is competitive, and enough good installers are trained.”
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