Heat pumps in the existing Dutch housing stock: An assessment of its Technological Innovation System

Abstract

Heat pump technology has the potential to substantially increase the efficiency of domestic space heating which is currently based on boiler technology. Although the heat pump has reached technological maturity, its implementation remains hampered by numerous non-technological barriers in many countries. This paper presents an assessment of the barriers that hamper diffusion of heat pumps in the Dutch residential sector. For this purpose, the state of its Technological Innovation Systems (TIS) was assessed. Particular attention was thereby given to the role of the sectoral context as this is where the heat pump ultimately needs to fit in. The success of domestic heat pumps was found to be highly dependent on how developments within the sectoral context unfold. The findings not only present what is hampering domestic heat pumps in the Netherlands, but also show that the sectoral context can be much more dynamic than literature suggests.