Households feeling the heat of global oil conflict

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The figures, published by the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), found that 1,163,000 were sold across twelve counties, up on 1,048,000 in the first half of 2025.

Sales were measured in Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.

Paul Kenny, the EHPA’s director general, said that governments should lower tax on electricity in order to promote the move to cleaner energy.

“Europe is ending its addiction to a toxic, costly drug from dodgy suppliers – gas. The sooner electricity becomes the most affordable solution, the quicker we’ll get clean. The fix? Dropping taxes on electricity and shifting them over to fossil fuels,” he said.

Singling out Belgium and the Netherlands as success stories, Kenny said other countries should follow their lead, and that of the European Union: “The European Commission has made this clear – but now all EU governments must enact it.”

Sales appear to be a response to rising oil prices in the wake of the US-Iran conflict, which has strangled tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in February 2026, which sent oil and gas prices skyrocketing. Soon afterwards, the European Commission published plans to encourage EU governments to lower electricity tax, to speed up the shift away from oil and gas. These are likely drivers of the growth in heat pump sales so far this year, the EHPA said, arguing installation demand depends strongly on the electricity price.