Heat Pump Taxonomy
A common framework for heat pumps classification and data
About this report
Heat pumps are a cornerstone technology for achieving secure, affordable and sustainable heating. They have become one of the most common heating technologies and have the potential to impact significantly future trends for energy consumption in buildings and beyond.
Tracking and analysing the pace of heat pump deployment compared to that of conventional heating technologies is essential for understanding future needs with regards to energy demand, investments in electricity infrastructure and fuel supply.
Despite their growing importance, data on heat pump installations, as well as on their performance and cost, remain fragmented and inconsistent across regions as reporting practices differ in scope, definitions and metrics used.
The Heat Pump Taxonomy Project, led by the IEA in collaboration with stakeholders from over 50 institutions, has developed a proposed taxonomy that focuses initially on heat pumps used as primary heating equipment in buildings, and that could be gradually expanded to other sectors. It introduces a structured classification framework based on source, sink and product characteristics. Advancing towards a common taxonomy supports cross-country comparability and facilitates international collaboration towards strengthening the evidence base for policy making and industry planning.
The Heat Pump Taxonomy Technology Explorer offers an accessible, interactive way to explore different heat pump types available in the market with fact sheets summarising their technical characteristics, major regional markets and applications.
The Heat Pump Taxonomy Technology Explorer
Technical Note on a Proposed Common Heat Pump Taxonomy
The Heat Pump Taxonomy Project was led by the IEA in collaboration with stakeholders from over 50 institutions. Through a series of workshops, technical discussions and two written consultation processes, the group discussed a common heat pump taxonomy, mechanisms to address associated challenges, such as accounting for reversible air-to-air and hybrid systems, and explored approaches for reporting new metrics such as capacity-based data. For a more in-depth view into the proposed taxonomy and the methodology behind it, please refer to the following documents:
The Technical Note, which discusses methodology and analytical rationale underpinning the proposed taxonomy and suggests possible next steps for future work.
The Heat Pump Regional Data Reporting Mapping Matrix: an analytical tool mapping existing reporting practices by product type and how they compare to the suggested taxonomy, highlighting data gaps and opportunities for alignment. (See Cross-regional Data Reporting Mapping Matrix and Cross-regional Data Reporting Terminologies)