Heat pumps in EPBD – opportunities and challenges

Heating and domestic hot water preparation are the biggest part of energy demand in the household, accounting for about 80% of the total energy. Today, there are devices and solutions on the market, which are characterized by high energy efficiency, the use of which saves energy. Heat pumps (for heating and cooling) also have an additional value – in addition to great energy savings, there is also the use of renewable energy, thereby reducing CO2 emissions in multiple ways. Although the positive impact of the highest possible energy efficiency is widely known, the IEA research from 2020 shows that people generally buy heat pumps (air-to-air in this case) with the minimum legally permitted efficiency. The European Commission, faced with such tendencies, is constantly looking for ways to improve energy efficiency. The new Energy Performance of Buildings EU 2024/1275 (EPBD), tightened the requirements for new buildings, and prescribed new requirements for existing ones, in order to achieve climate neutrality in Europe by 2050 through the renovation of all types of buildings. the picture has a lot of weight – according to the JRC (joint research centre), 36% of CO2 emissions and 40% of the total final energy are wasted on buildings. EPBD introduces the term ZEB (Zero Emission Buildings) instead of nZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Buildings), and definitely moves towards the elimination of fossil fuels from buildings. The member states have a lot of work to do to harmonize their legislation, which means that our heat pump industry must find its rightful place in the actions related to the implementation of the Directive. This paper analyses the position of heat pumps in the aforementioned Directive, and suggests how to best use their potential in order to decarbonize heating in buildings.