Nov 19, 2024

As Governments grapple with energy policies and net zero goals, heat pumps are playing a crucial role in decarbonising heating and cooling systems. With flexibility in the types of systems available (air, water or ground), and in the services those systems can provide (heating, cooling, domestic hot water etc.), heat pumps make sense in a wide range of applications. 

While the future for heat pumps looks promising, the European market as a whole saw a 5% decline in sales in 2023. The “Pump it down: why heat pump sales dropped in 2023,” report by the European Heat Pump Association highlights that, “France, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Poland, Denmark, Austria and Switzerland all experienced declines in heat pump sales, while Portugal, Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Slovakia and the UK saw modest growth, but not enough to offset the overall decline.” 

Citing shifts in energy prices, making electric heat pumps less financially attractive; stagnation in the European economy, resulting in high interest rates, high inflation and economic uncertainty; and politics, namely the backlash against green policies, as causes for the decline, the report paints a mixed picture for Europe.

With consumer uncertainty hitting the sector, it is therefore vital that heat pump certification meets the needs of the market, and helps rebuild confidence, by offering comprehensive, innovative and renowned certification programmes that offer real value to manufacturers and HVAC professionals alike. We spoke to Olesya Shakhter, Programme Manager for Heat Pumps about how Eurovent Certification is planning for the road ahead. 

Hi Olesya. Before we get into all things heat pumps, first can you tell us about your background?

Olesya: “My background is in heavy industry, I spent over 15 years in the machine construction field. I’ve held roles such as sales engineer, procurement engineer, and held project manager roles, working on CAPEX projects, mainly for steel production and mining, working on tailor-made industrial projects, spanning EU and Russian speaking countries.”

What interested you in taking on the Programme Manager role for Heat Pumps?

Olesya: “My family! My father owned a company that made controls for heat pumps, so I have been involved in the development of some of these products from afar. When he wanted to export to the EU market, I had several months helping him on market studies, researching partners and localisation of manufacturing.

Before my current role I was hired as a technical manager for a technical centre for all types of HVAC installations in Valence, France. The department I was in worked on innovation fields, so I managed the development of products, both for the HVAC industry, and for power manufacturing and the nuclear market. The company covered the installation, maintenance and repairs of all different types of HVAC equipment.

During my career in heavy industry, I was always involved in all types of certification processes, on the manufacturer’s side. The main objective was to attain certification to confirm products corresponded to local technical requirements in the countries we were exporting to. Sometimes this would just include paperwork, sometimes tests and extensive processes, but it has always been part of my job, from year one of my career.”

Eurovent Certification offers certification programmes for heat pumps under the Eurovent Certified Performance mark, the NF mark, KEYMARK and MCS. What are your priorities for these programmes over the next few months?

Olesya: “Short term, my main objectives are to build bridges between the four heat pump certifications, and to align the Heat Pump NF mark with today’s market requirements. The NF scheme has become heavy and complex, so we will work with participants and the industry to simplify it and make it more comprehensive.

Underpinning this, my number one priority is to ameliorate the customer service. To do that we need to make the market aware of our work to align the different schemes and streamline complex certifications. The market needs to understand the adaptions we’ve made and the certification options available going forward.” 

How will you communicate the changes to the industry?

Olesya: “We will be implementing a marketing and communications plan, aimed at all players in the sector. I’ll be giving technical support to our marketing team as they spread the word to manufacturers on our new look heat pump certifications. As part of the campaign, we will be reaching out to product decision makers to ensure they understand the true value of the different heat pump certification programmes we offer.” 

Thinking ahead, what are your longer-term visions for all programmes?

Olesya: “In the long-term we want to make Eurovent Certification a one-stop-shop for heat pump and HVAC certification. By working collaboratively, our umbrella offer will streamline the certification process for multiple programmes, ensuring that manufacturers gain the best value when certifying their products. The changes will benefit their clients also, who will be able to easily identify products belonging to the most recognised certification programme in their region.”

Thank you for your time Olesya, and good luck with all the hard work ahead!

Do you want to find out more about heat pump certification?

To view the related programmes please visit: 
Heat pumps NF (NF-414) certification programme  
Eurovent Heat Pump certification programme  
KEYMARK Heat Pump programme  
Chillers & Heat Pumps (LCP-HP) Eurovent Certified Performance programme    

Apply for the Eurovent Heat Pump programme

Search for certified products in our Heat Pumps (Eurovent-HP) programme