Heat pump control: lessons from the UK, Germany and Netherlands
UK – Resideo, the manufacturer of Honeywell Home heating and cooling control products, has published a new white paper looking at how different European markets are approaching heat pump control.
Drawing on insights from the UK alongside more established markets such as the Netherlands and Germany, the paper highlights where approaches diverge – and where common themes are beginning to emerge.
The reason the company has focused on the Netherlands and Germany is because the Netherlands is committed to taking 1.5 million homes off the gas grid by 2030 and Germany’s heat pump sales exceeded gas boiler installations for the first time in 2025.
Ian Little, Resideo’s UK Business Development Manager and Heat Pump Association (HPA) representative, said: “Installers are at the heart of why we have published our white paper. They are the ones talking to consumers, giving advice and helping guide choices. So, we want to play our role in helping move the discussion forward and supporting the skills and practical application development across the industry.”
Resideo says the white paper considers questions many installers are already facing, including:
• To zone or not to zone: outlining the Dutch experience where zoning is being successfully applied when designed correctly.
• What do consumers want when it comes to room-by-room control: Resideo research suggests a growing preference among surveyed consumers for heating only occupied rooms (Netherlands 65%, Germany 49%, and UK 43% of survey respondents told Resideo that for 2025/2026 winter they would focus on heating individual rooms vs the whole home).
• Could separating system control from comfort control offer a more consistent approach to managing heat pump performance: this means the heat pump’s controller would remain responsible for system behaviour while the comfort controls manage time schedules, room temperatures and zoning.
