Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are currently experiencing a rapid surge across the continent. The photovoltaic (PV) market, in particular, is making great strides forward; driven in part by the energy crisis, more and more people want to become independent of high electricity prices and are increasingly looking to maximise self-sufficiency with their own solar power.
The report forecasts significant expansion of the European HEMS market, with an expected 11-fold growth by 2030. According to the consultancy firm LCP Delta, around one million households in Europe are already equipped with a HEMS, and approximately eleven million HEMS are expected in households by 2030.
Looking at Europe as a whole, it is clear that the HEMS expansion and use cases vary significantly from country to country. From the north, Sweden and Denmark are leading the seven analysed nations in terms of EV and heat pump integration.
Sweden demonstrates an impressive 22.5 kW of heat pump capacity per 100 inhabitants, while Denmark accounts for 11.4 kW. The Netherlands showcases its dominance in the PV sector, significantly driven by the success of net metering: as of early 2024, over one-third of all rooftops are equipped with solar panels. Its neighbour, Germany, ranks among the leaders when it comes to privately installed battery capacity (an average of 20 kWh) and capacity of installed PV systems (99 kW) per 100 inhabitants.
However, there is still a need for improvement when looking at heat pumps and battery electric vehicles (BEVs) per capita. Italy and Spain show significant progress in the proliferation of household battery storage, each reaching a strong 19 kW capacity per 100 inhabitants – clearly outpacing the European average of 13 kW. As another silver lining: almost 25 percent of all German households state, they plan to install a HEMS in the next two years.
The gridX report identifies the United Kingdom as a laggard, falling short of the European average in most categories of this analysis: particularly in installed PV capacity (23 kW), EVs (1.4 kW), and heat pumps (0.6 kW) per 100 inhabitants. The so far poor results for heat pump installations and installed capacity, in particular, should send a strong signal for improvement to the country’s decision makers. With ambitious goals and increasing government grants, however, the UK shows a lot of potential for rapid growth in the coming years.
The energy sector is currently undergoing rapid transformation. With increasing electrification and a continuous shift towards renewable energy generation, not only must consumers change their habits and energy players transform, but regulations must also adapt to encourage a new era of clean energy. In many countries, including Germany, governments have started to take action, creating new incentives to encourage more consumers to transition to clean energy assets or explore new use cases. One of the most recent and prominent examples is paragraph 14a of the German Energy Industry Act (EnWG), which allows grid operators to dim consumption devices so that they behave in a more grid-friendly manner.
In Sweden, on the other hand, a complete smart meter rollout and successful tax deduction scheme for self-consumption models has encouraged more advanced use cases that leverage aggregated small-scale flexibility.
Although each market is progressing differently, one thing holds true across all European markets – the rapid growth in DERs is making HEMS absolutely vital, but the key differentiator will be the ability to adapt and scale as the market continues to grow.
“We see clear signals from European consumers that they want to electrify households and integrate systems” said Tim Steinmetz, Managing Director of gridX. “Now, energy players must provide future-proof, holistic solutions to gradually unlock more value from diverse use cases. The gridX toolset, consisting of a secure and robust gateway, a modular cloud platform and end-to-end services, guarantees a fast and effective go-to-market with a HEMS that grows with your business.”
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