Tap heat pumps’ efficiency and flexibility

Heat pumps can recover waste heat or heat from inside a building.

They also connect many networks: electricity, heating and cooling, industry and district energy. This reduces primary energy demand and lowers the impact on the electricity grid.

Heat pumps can be turned on and off in response to market or grid signals.

All of this reduces grid investments, optimises renewable energy use, and improves the economics of heat pumps for industry, businesses, and households.

This can save ‘electrified’ households 10-15% on their annual electricity bill. 

 

What if the 2.2 million heat pumps already installed in Germany could help bring down electricity prices?

New analysis from the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA) and smartEn – Smart Energy Europe shows they can.

Looking at a peak hour in February 2026, the analysis found that using Germany’s heat pumps more flexibly could have reduced wholesale electricity prices by 13.5% during that hour, cutting the day-ahead price by €17/MWh.

Across the whole month, this could have translated into around €31 million in wholesale market savings.

Learn more about the Revolutionising Energy Use with Flexibility campaign developed together with smartEn – Smart Energy Europe and E-Mobility Europe, and download the infographic! 

Screenshot 2026-09-25 at 10.34.07

What should EU policymakers do?

1
Recognise heat pump flexibility and waste heat recovery as strategic pillars of Europe’s energy security
2
Integrate heat pumps’ flexibility potential into energy system planning, and remove regulatory, planning, and financial barriers
3
Ensure heat pump owners have dynamic energy contracts to benefit from demand-side flexibility and reduce their energy bills
4
Ensure flexible grid planning and fast grid connections for ready-to-deploy industrial projects to support electrification

Discover our latest numbers, analysis and market report:

Policy news

"2038? I'd be happy to know the gas price next week" - costs key for heat pumps in chemicals sector

A whopping 95% of all manufactured goods contains petrochemicals. This is why decarbonising the chemicals indu...

25 Sep 2026
Flexible heat pumps could cut peak electricity prices by 13.5% in Germany

What if the 2.2 million heat pumps already installed in Germany could help bring down electricity prices? New ...

25 Sep 2026
Shrimps to sugar: discovering 'digital heat pump twins'

It sounds like science fiction, but it’s starting to happen today. Virtual copies can be made of physical obje...

18 Sep 2026

Publications, position papers and joint statements:

Cooling matters: the other side of heat pumps

Cooling is essential to protect people’s health. Heat pumps can both heat and cool. They can also recover and ...

31 Jul 2026
Manifesto: how to speed up heat pump rollout

In a world of geopolitical turmoil, fossil energy prices are spiking more than ever. Heat pumps replace fossil...

22 May 2026
Joint letter: energy security and affordability in a new geopolitical era

Europe faces an increasingly volatile geopolitical landscape. Russia’s war against Ukraine and rising tensions...

13 May 2026

EU Projects

EHPA’s work on flexibility, grids, and energy system integration is further supported by the EU-funded projects:

Questions? Get in touch.

Policy
Saverio Papa
Saverio Papa
Head of Energy Policy
Communications
Photo: Tim Buelens
Daniela Floris
Communications Officer

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