Countries with more smart meters sell more heat pumps.

| Jiří Staník

Correlation is not perfect, but the formula holds across 20 European countries. Norway leads in heat‑pump sales with almost universal smart‑meter coverage, while the United Kingdom lags significantly despite 62% coverage.

Of course there are many other factors and correlation does not imply causation. Smart meters are important for heat pumps for a simple reason: time‑of‑use tariffs allow operating a heat pump more cheaply if it is run intelligently. Without smart metering this price signal does not reach the consumer. The financial argument for switching to a heat pump weakens.

Germany and the Czech Republic have almost no smart meters and are among the countries with the lowest heat‑pump sales. Finland, Sweden and Norway have almost full coverage and a five‑ to eight‑fold higher sales rate.

The analysis comes from a recent article with Jaap Burger in the Electricity Journal:

Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S104061902500065X

ESG

Related articles

Data on ESG help improve company management

Companies that monitor, and possibly also report, their sustainability data see significant value in this data for formulating their business strategy and managing the firm. This is confirmed by the …
Data on ESG help improve company management
Eliška Kozubíková
READ MORE

The European Parliament approved the simplification of ESG reporting

The European Parliament approved on Thursday, 13 November 2025, its negotiating position on the package of amendments referred to as “Omnibus I”, which simplifies sustainability reporting requirements and the introduction of due‑diligence principles for companies. The adopted proposal brings significant simplification for firms.
Eliška Kozubíková
READ MORE

EU approved new sustainability reporting rules

The European Parliament approved final simplified rules for sustainability reporting and due diligence. From now on, only companies with more than 1,000 employees and an annual turnover above 450 million EUR will be subject to reporting obligations. Due diligence must be implemented only by companies with more than 5,000 employees and an annual turnover exceeding 1.5 billion EUR.Members of the European Parliament approved on Tuesday, 16 December 2025, the final adjustment of the requirements for implementing sustainability principles into the operations of companies operating in EU countries. This step follows the adoption of the Omnibus I package, with which the …
Eliška Kozubíková
READ MORE
Back to blog