Ambient heat: Across the Earth
Why the Nordics lead and China sells most
What this tab covers How the resource varies with latitude, climate, terrain and geology: the richest and poorest regions and the leading countries.Available everywhere, but heat pumps perform best where winters are mild and the electricity is clean; adoption is highest in the Nordic countries and sales are largest in China, the United States and Europe.
Colder climates mean larger temperature lifts and lower efficiency, though modern units still beat fossil boilers well below freezing. Where winters rarely fall below -10 °C, as across most of Europe, standard units achieve suitable performance.
Rich and poor regions
| Region | Resource | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Norway | about 630 heat pumps per 1,000 households (2024)9 | high |
| Finland | just over 520 per 1,000 households (2024)9 | high |
| Most of Europe (winters rarely below -10 °C) | standard units achieve suitable efficiency8 | high |
| Extreme cold (near -30 °C) | cold-climate units still reach a COP above 1.5, up to double resistive heating8 | low |
Largest heat pump markets by unit sales (China, the largest, omitted because data are highly uncertain) 2023 10
| Country | units sold |
|---|---|
| United States | about 3.6 million (shipments) |
| Australia | about 1.37 million (expected) |
| Canada | about 440,000 |
| Germany | about 439,000 |
| Italy | about 345,000 |
China is the largest heat pump market by a wide margin, though its statistics are uncertain (REN21). In Europe, about 2.3 million units were sold in 2024 across 19 countries, led by France (546,000) and Italy (about 348,000), after a 22% fall from 2023 (EHPA). Sales are sensitive to the relative price of gas and electricity: in 2025 global sales fell about 2%, while Germany saw heat pumps outsell gas boilers for the first time (IEA).
Sources
- Coming in from the cold: Heat pump efficiency at low temperatures (Gibb, Rosenow, Lowes and Hewitt, Joule 7) Cell Press, 2023
- European Heat Pump Market and Statistics Report 2025: Executive summary European Heat Pump Association, 2025
- Renewables 2024 Global Status Report: Heat pumps REN21, 2024