Daikin Industries and other Japanese air-conditioning manufacturers are ramping up production in anticipation of greater sales of heat-pump systems in Europe, where energy prices are soaring and many homes and businesses still burn fuel during cold seasons.
The machines that collect heat from outside air and transfer it indoors using compressed refrigerant run on electricity. These split systems, with indoor and outdoor units, which can also be used for air cooling, run on electricity, which — if sourced sustainably — can help reduce carbon emissions.
Daikin, the top provider of heat-pump systems in Europe since 2019, is betting on new European regulations spurring their use. A year ago, the European Commission revised its target for the introduction of heat-pump systems to set a goal of installing a total of 10 million units over a five-year period. The United Kingdom, Germany and other countries are promoting a shift away from combustion heating by setting up their own incentive programs.