WESPE Project

Faster Heat Pump Installation

Berlin (GER), October 2026 - Heat pumps are an efficient and future-proof key technology for the energy transition in heating systems and for achieving Germany’s climate goals. In the WESPE project, Fraunhofer researchers and their partners are working to make heat pump installation faster, more productive and more efficient to support the transformation of the heating sector, despite a shortage of skilled workers. Innovative, standardized digital tools and practical installation solutions tested in real-world conditions are to significantly speed up future heat pump retrofits.

Heat pump technology is a central component of the energy transition. However, what can be done to make heat pump installation more efficient, faster and more productive? How do we address the challenges arising from the shortage of skilled workers as well as the fact that installation in single-family and two-unit homes currently heated with fossil fuels is still a lengthy process? Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics IBP and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have addressed this in close collaboration with partners from industry, specialty wholesalers and the skilled trades sector as part of the WESPE project.
This project is coordinated by the German Sanitation, Heating and Air Conditioning Association (Zentralverband Sanitär Heizung Klima, ZVSHK). It focuses on on-site and digital processes throughout the entire value chain and aims to significantly reduce installation times by up to 40 percent. This endeavor is a major challenge for the heating sector, especially in view of the fact that skilled workers are already scarce.

More about the WESPE project and the information platform for more efficient retrofitting.

Faster Heat Pump Installation

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