On the 7th (local time), after driving a little over 20 minutes southeast from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, home to Europe's largest port, we arrived at Rembrandtweg in Ridderkerk. This is a construction site for multifamily housing where LG Electronics is, for the first time, supplying air-to-water heat pump Therma V and the stainless steel buffer tank from Norway's OSO, acquired last year, as a single package. Local social housing operator Wooncompas is demolishing the above-ground structures of the existing 94 units while reusing the foundations and underground structures to build four buildings with 102 social rental units. Apartment-style social rental homes with three rooms, familiar in Korea at 62 square meters (about 19 pyeong) and 68 square meters (about 21 pyeong), are being built.
The four buildings were at different construction stages. Inside the steel scaffolding and blue safety nets, some buildings had yellow structural members exposed, while the neighboring building had largely finished its wood exterior walls and window installation. In the more advanced building, HVAC installation was underway first.
On this building's rooftop, white outdoor units bearing the LG logo stood in a long line at regular intervals. At a glance, they looked little different from the air conditioner outdoor units commonly seen on apartments or commercial buildings in Korea. But the Therma V outdoor units on the roof are connected to indoor units to handle not only the air conditioning function familiar in Korea but also heating and hot water. In Korea, residential heat pumps are being introduced in ways such as placing them in single-family yards or on exterior walls, but here they have taken root as "infrastructure" built into apartments from the construction stage, like electricity and water.
A heat pump is equipment that moves heat using refrigerant and a compressor, like an air conditioner. While an air conditioner expels indoor heat outside, for heating it does the opposite, drawing heat from the outside air to warm water. Reversing the refrigerant flow also enables cooling in summer.
The Therma V that LG Electronics is supplying here consists of rooftop outdoor units, indoor units for each household, and stainless steel buffer tanks. When the outdoor unit draws heat from the outside air, the indoor unit uses it for heating, cooling, and hot water, while the buffer tank stores heating water to stabilize circulation. Replacing gas boilers and handling cooling in a single system, demand is growing in Europe, where decarbonization and rising summer temperatures are advancing at the same time.
◇ From single-family equipment to apartment "built-in"
Noh Sook-hee, head of the Benelux subsidiary at LG Electronics (senior vice president), said, "In Korea, it's not easy to see residential heat pumps being installed in multifamily housing in this form." The Benelux subsidiary oversees business in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
Therma V uses LG Electronics' high-efficiency inverter scroll compressor. The company said it can produce about 4 to 5 times as much thermal energy as the electricity consumed and cut energy use by about 40% to 60% compared with conventional fossil-fuel boilers. It can provide heating even at minus 15 C. Beyond the 102 units in Ridderkerk, LG Electronics has won multifamily heat pump projects for more than 250 units in the Netherlands, including 157 units in Eindhoven.
When all households in a building have their outdoor units on the same roof, noise and vibration can occur. Klaus Rieder said, "At 1 meter, noise is at the 44 dB(A) level, making it suitable even for dense residential areas where noise is a major concern," adding, "We also built vibration-damping mounts under the outdoor units and installed them to fit residential spaces."
◇ Bundled with OSO "water tanks" too… Installation and after-sales service from one place
The buffer tanks going into the Rembrandtweg social rental housing along with Therma V are supplied by OSO, a Norwegian hot water solutions company that LG Electronics acquired last year. Serving as a "cushioning device" that stores a set amount of heating water to stabilize circulation, it reduces short cycling of the heat pump when heating demand fluctuates, easing the load on components like compressors.
Founded in 1932, OSO makes stainless steel thermal storage tanks and electric water heaters. LG Electronics acquired 100% equity last year, laying the groundwork to add hot water and thermal storage systems to heat pumps. Head of Team Kim said, "We have been supplying Therma V and OSO buffer tanks as a package, but this is the first time we are delivering more than 100 units at once to a new multifamily development."
Bundling the heat pump and tank into a package also simplifies ordering and aftercare. Previously, builders or installers had to purchase products from different manufacturers and match capacity, piping, and control methods. Kim Sung-bin, Head of Team at LG Electronics' Benelux subsidiary, said, "If the heat pump is from LG Electronics but the tank is another brand, installers end up calling multiple places and disputing who is responsible," adding, "This time we can guarantee the entire package uniformly, making installation and aftercare easier for customers."
◇ "Degassing" and even heat waves… Europe's heat pump market rebounds
The Netherlands is a "land of opportunity" for heat pump makers. That's because it is implementing a "degassing" policy that effectively restricts gas use in new buildings. When it implemented the Energy Transition Act (VET) in July 2018, the Netherlands barred new buildings from being connected to the gas grid except in cases of overriding public interest. Heat pumps and district heating are filling the void left by gas boilers.
The 2019 climate agreement laid out a direction to convert about 7 million households and 1 million buildings to sustainable heating by 2050. It subsidizes part of individuals' heat pump installation costs and gives tax benefits to corporations that invest in high-efficiency equipment. The 102 units at Rembrandtweg are also designed to avoid using gas by applying solar panels and heat pumps.
Demand across Europe is growing again. According to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA), residential heat pump sales in 2025 in the top 16 countries reached about 2.62 million units, up 10.3% from the previous year. Heat is also creating new demand. Energy use for cooling in European Union (EU) households nearly doubled in six years, from 40,500 terajoules (TJ) in 2018 to 80,040 TJ in 2024.
Heat pumps are a core growth business of the Eco Solution (ES) Business Division, which handles heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) at LG Electronics. From residential air conditioners and heat pumps to commercial system air conditioners and data center chillers, one organization is in charge, with a goal of reaching 20 trillion won in HVAC sales by 2030. In Europe, it has supplied residential heat pumps to more than 100,000 households across five Southern European countries, including France and Spain. To address installer shortages as the market grows, LG Electronics has run the local "LG Academy" for more than 10 years, providing free training and certification to over 10,000 installers.