In order to reach climate targets, innovative technologies and strategies are essential in the building sector. Heat pumps are considered crucial for decarbonization, whether it be for new or existing buildings. However, the industry is confronted with significant challenges, mainly due to a shortage of skilled tradespeople capable of installing and maintaining the technology.

To address this issue, SPRIND has tasked thermondo, Germany's largest heat pump installer, with devising and presenting measures for more efficient heat pump installation.

Thermondo believes that the most critical factors for scaling up the installation process are focused on labor division, standardization and digitization, and incorporating lateral entrants to assist trained specialists on-site as installation assistants.

"We believe it's possible to increase the efficiency of trained craftsmen tenfold, which is great news given the shortage of skilled workers. The energy transition presents us with significant social, economic, and political challenges. Skilled workers play a pivotal role in this, but currently, we don't have enough of them", remarks Philipp Pausder, thermondo's founder and CEO. "To overcome these challenges, we need to attract more people to skilled trades, develop more tailored qualifications, and leverage the productivity of our skilled workforce."

"There is a shortage of 60,000 skilled workers in Germany just to master the heat transition. We must also address such a huge gap with new, more efficient processes in the installation trade. The thermondo report shows that this is not only necessary, but also clearly possible and feasible", explains Dr. Christian Bogatu, Innovationmanager at SPRIND.

The report identifies feasible measures with which installation companies can more effectively deploy their personnel for the installation of heat pumps through digital and work-sharing processes. By providing focused training and targeted deployment for career changers, tradespeople without formal vocational qualifications, and immigrants without training recognized in Germany, companies can install more heat pumps – even if the number of HVAC and electrical specialists is limited.