How can Europe scale heat pumps, digital district heating and smart buildings without a skilled workforce? This article translates nine-country evidence into actionable insights for building professionals and educators.
Dr Tatjana Tambovceva, Raimonds Bogdanovics and Rita Greitane, Riga Technical University (RTU), Latvia | LinkedIn profile
(Note: Opinions in the articles are of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union)
With the recast Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) targeting a complete phase-out of fossil fuel boilers by 2040, the European building sector is undergoing a rapid technological shift. Heating and cooling still account for roughly half of all EU energy consumption, making the large-scale deployment of heat pumps—which REPowerEU aims to expand by 30 million new units by 2030—the primary driver of the energy transition in buildings. Decarbonising thermal energy systems is therefore not only a climate imperative but also a prerequisite for energy security, affordability and resilience.
Recent legislative updates, including the recast EPBD, the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED) and Renewable Energy Directive III (RED III), have significantly strengthened the policy framework guiding this transformation. New buildings must become zero-emission by 2030, fossil-fuel boiler subsidies are being phased out, and municipalities are required to develop local heating and cooling plans. At the same time, REPowerEU links clean heat with reduced dependence on imported fuels, reinforcing the strategic importance of electrification, renewable integration and demand-side flexibility.
However, policy ambition and technological readiness alone are not sufficient. The rapid deployment of heat pumps, low-temperature district heating, smart ventilation systems and digital building management platforms is reshaping professional roles across the construction and HVAC sectors. The transition demands new competencies in system integration, commissioning, data analytics and regulatory compliance.
The REPOWER REGIONS Landscape Analysis Report synthesises evidence from nine European countries (Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Norway, Poland, Serbia, and Spain) and 68 case studies to examine how technological innovation, policy frameworks and workforce readiness interact in practice. This article translates those findings into actionable insights for building professionals, municipalities and education providers seeking to accelerate the decarbonisation of heating and cooling across Europe.
Heating needs remain dominant across northern and central regions, while cooling demand is growing in southern and urban areas. Heating Degree Days (HDD) and Cooling Degree Days (CDD) illustrate Europe’s north-south energy divide. Nordic and Baltic regions record high HDD values due to long, cold winters, while Mediterranean regions are experiencing rapidly rising CDD due to intensified summer heatwaves (Fig.1.).
Figure 1. Heating degree days by country (Eurostat, 2024). Source: Eurostat (n.d.).
Across the EU, 77.6% of household energy use is still dedicated to space and water heating. Cooling remains a smaller share but is the fastest-growing end use, putting increasing pressure on electricity grids during peak periods.
Smart meters, smart-ready buildings and digital controls are becoming the glue that holds electrified heat together, i.e. from time-of-use optimisation in homes to predictive control in campuses and low-temperature district systems. With Smart Readiness Indicator (SRI) pilots and the Common European Energy Data Space moving ahead, projects increasingly depend on interoperability and data governance rather than on any single device.
For planners, this means:
The analysis of 68 case studies across nine European countries reveals clear patterns in which technologies, design choices and operational practices consistently deliver high-performance, low-carbon heating and cooling outcomes in commercial, public, residential and district-level systems:
In summary, despite differences in climate and building typologies, the same success factors recur across Europe, laying the foundation for skills and system requirements.
Despite clear evidence of what works in buildings, progress is still hindered by recurring barriers that limit the scale and speed of decarbonisation. These obstacles stem from technology, skills, regulation, financing and system integration. The most significant barriers are:
A central question raised by the case studies is whether Europe’s education and training systems can supply the workforce needed to design, install, commission and operate modern low-carbon heating and cooling systems. The review of 110 programmes shows uneven alignment with five key competency areas: modern tools, digitalisation, regulatory frameworks, decarbonised heating, and sustainability. Some pathways offer comprehensive preparation, while others lack exposure to digital tools, commissioning practices or emerging regulations.
Higher Education (HE) generally demonstrates strong systems thinking, but many programmes under-specify commissioning and data analytics. Vocational Education and Training (VET) programmes deliver hands-on skills but often lacks digitalisation and regulatory practice; short Continuing Vocational Education and Training (CVET) courses are effective refreshers but require micro-labs to cover BMS, Internet of Things (IoT), and F-gas transitions.
Five cross-cutting outcomes should be embedded across Bachelor, Master, VET and CVET programmes:
(1) modern tools & labs (commissioning, BMS/IoT, data logging),
(2) digitalisation in practice (trend logs, fault detection and diagnostics, basic analytics),
(3) clear regulation backbone (eco-design, energy labelling, low-GWP refrigerants),
(4) decarbonised heating design & operation (low-temperature hydronics, heat pump sizing and commissioning, thermal energy storage), and
(5) measurable sustainability (energy and carbon indicators, lifecycle analysis, total cost of ownership).
Figure 2 summarises how well the different programme types align with the five evaluation criteria.
Figure 2. Summary of the compliance of educational programs with 5 criteria.
Source: REPOWER REGIONS: Landscape Analysis Report (2025)
The evidence from case studies, fieldwork interviews and educational mapping shows that Europe’s heating and cooling transition cannot succeed through technology alone; it requires coordinated action across all actors who influence planning, design, deployment, operation and training. Policymakers, industry, municipalities, education providers and research organisations each play distinct but interdependent roles in overcoming the barriers identified. Each stakeholder group holds critical levers to accelerate practical, large-scale delivery of clean, efficient and digitally enabled heating and cooling systems:
Europe now has both the policy framework and mature technologies, with heat pumps at the forefront, for clean heat. The decisive factor is execution capacity: interoperable, low-temperature systems operated by professionals capable of commissioning, monitoring and optimising them using open digital tools. By closing skills gaps and standardising data practices while accelerating proven fabric-first and electrification measures, Member States can turn targets into lower bills, improved comfort and resilient, climate-neutral heat across buildings and districts.
