A new season of opportunity for the heat pump market in Italy

CATEGORIE:

The new flat-rate dedicated to this technology, starting from the third quarter 2014 eliminates the obstacle of high electricity bills. This innovation along with the extension of the 65% tax deductions makes 2014 the golden year for heat pumps.

ADV
image_pdfimage_print

Starting from July, an obstacle will be eliminated which up to now has limited considerably the spread of heat pumps in Italy, particularly in the residential market: the high electricity bills.

Credit goes to the new flat-rate dedicated to this technology, the “D1”, which, starting from the third quarter 2014 will replace the current system, based on a progressive rate, which obviously penalises those who have higher consumption, in fact those who use a heat pump.

The new rate introduced by the Energy Authority will be applied on an experimental and voluntary basis to the customers, both with free market and with “greater protection” contracts, who use a heat pump as the main heating system in their residence: they will pay all the kilowatt hours consumed at about 21 Euro cents and will no longer have to turn to the expedient, at present very widespread, of installing a second meter just for the heat pump.

This innovation – along with the extension of the 65% tax deductions until 31 December, in addition to the other direct incentive opportunity offered by Conto Termico (“Thermal Account”, a sort of feed-in tariff for renewable heat) – identifies 2014 as the turning point for the development of the market for this technology.

SOLAREXPO – THE INNOVATION CLOUD 2014 will support the Companies of the sector during this new phase and, in its capacity as multi-technological exhibition, will also show the market all the possibilities of integrated engineering solutions, first of all with photovoltaic technology which, in the post-incentive era, maximizes its profitability precisely in all the utilities which have the highest self-consumption of green energy produced. The pace is accelerating therefore towards new near-zero energy building technology.

In May, therefore, the Milan event will inaugurate this new “season of opportunity” for the heat-pump market and will offer all the players key opportunities for indispensable B2B networking between industries, such as the heat pumps and the photovoltaic technology sectors, largely separate up to now, and between these engineering sectors and the building customers, with a particular focus on social housing.

“We consider the new rate that will be introduced as a very positive step. The progressive nature of the Italian electricity rates was a considerable obstacle to the spread of heat pumps in Italy”, declared Fernando Pettorossi, manager of the Heat Pump Group of Anima-Co.Aer., the Italian association for this industry. Pettorossi explains that Italy “while being at the forefront of the industry, has been forced up to now to export about 50% of production. Now the ball is in the hands of the sector’s operators”.

According to Luca Zingale, Scientific Director of Solarexpo-The Innovation Cloud, “the signal of the new experimental flat rate is very positive. 40 years after the first oil crisis, which made it necessary to control electrical consumption – the progressive curve is no longer a rate model applicable to efficient electro-technologies. After heat-pump installations, the next step is the extension of the flat rate to domestic recharging for e-mobility. These are truly very large markets which need to be tapped into”.

ADV
×