The sale of heat pumps, meant to replace traditional gas-fired central heating boilers, has collapsed this year, due to political uncertainty, low gas prices, and consumer questions, the AD said on Wednesday afternoon. 

Heat pump makers association DVW says that sales have halved year on year. In the first quarter of 2023, consumers bought 42,000 heat pumps, but in the same period this year, they have only bought 20,000. 

There is, the DVW told the AD, “a continual brake” on sales growth. Manufacturers have invested heavily in expanding production since the government announced targets to phase out the use of traditional central heating systems. Remeha, for example, can build 140,000 a year, the AD said.  

The decline is due to a variety of reasons, not least of which is the slowdown in the construction of new housing. In addition, gas prices have fallen and that means it will take longer to earn back the investment, the paper said. 

Earlier this year it emerged that the sale of electric cars is also stagnating, and solar panels are also out of favour because of questions about cost. 

A hybrid heat pump costs between €6,000 and €12,000, around three times the price of a gas boiler. Households can recover around one-third of the cost through subsidies, but many homes will also need to be better insulated before owners feel the benefit in lower heating bills.