Polish heat pump sales rise 18% as 36,000 heating units enter distribution
Polish manufacturers and importers supplied about 36,000 heat pumps for central heating to wholesalers and installers in the first half of 2026. Sales rose 18% year on year, led by a 57% increase in ground-source units, but remained well below the 2022 record.
Sales recovery accelerates in the second quarter
Poland's heat pump market returned to growth in the first half of 2026 after two difficult years. Sales of units designed for central heating increased by 18% from the same period of 2025, according to data from the Polish Organisation for the Development of Heat Pump Technology, PORT PC, reported by PortalSamorzadowy.pl. Growth accelerated from April through June, when sales were 22% higher year on year.
Manufacturers and importers supplied approximately 36,000 central-heating heat pumps to wholesalers and installation companies during the six-month period. This total comprised around 32,000 air-to-water units used for building heating and about 4,000 ground-source units. PORT PC stressed that these figures measure deliveries into distribution channels, not installations completed at end-user properties. Some projects may also have used equipment already held in distributors' or installers' inventories.
Ground-source units lead the rebound
Ground-source brine-to-water and water-to-water heat pumps recorded the fastest expansion. First-half sales rose 57% year on year, while second-quarter growth reached 77%. Air-to-water units for building heating increased by 15% in the first half. Within that category, monobloc sales advanced 19% and split-system sales rose 14%.
Split systems remain the dominant air-to-water configuration in Poland, with sales approximately three times those of monobloc units, according to PORT PC. The organisation also estimated that more than 200,000 air conditioners with a heating function, classified as air-to-air heat pumps, were sold during the first half. It cautioned that its statistics for this segment are incomplete.
The improvement did not extend across the entire market. Sales of air-to-water heat pumps used exclusively for domestic hot water fell 34% in the first half and 26% in the second quarter. This was the only category covered by PORT PC's statistics to post a first-half decline.
Full-year forecast remains below the 2022 peak
PORT PC forecasts full-year 2026 sales of approximately 71,000 air-to-water heat pumps for building heating, 9,900 ground-source units and 3,700 air-to-water units dedicated to domestic hot water. Combined sales in the three monitored segments are expected to reach about 85,000 units. Even if achieved, that result would remain substantially below the record level registered in 2022.
Paweł Lachman, president of PORT PC, described the figures as the beginning of a market rebuilding process rather than another rapid investment boom. Consumer experience will be important to that recovery. A Polish Smog Alert survey cited by PORT PC found that 60% of heat pump users were satisfied with their heating costs, including 15% who were very satisfied and 45% who were fairly satisfied. Another 31% were dissatisfied and 9% could not give a clear assessment. By comparison, 46% of gas boiler users were satisfied with operating costs and 47% were dissatisfied.
PORT PC said the dissatisfied share underlines the need for better system design, equipment sizing, installation quality and consumer knowledge. Electricity tariffs, operating controls and the ability to shift consumption into cheaper hours can materially affect costs. The organisation is calling for stable support programmes, more competitive electricity pricing and a lower value-added tax rate on power consumed by heat pumps, particularly under time-of-use or dynamic tariffs. The market's development also has implications for municipal clean-air and building-efficiency programmes, where energy audits, building insulation standards and installation quality determine whether subsidised equipment performs effectively.
