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Industrial heat pumps can use outdoor air, wastewater, process exhaust, or other low-temperature heat sources to provide hot water, hot air and, in some configurations, steam. They do not create heat from electricity like a resistance heater: electricity drives a compressor that upgrades existing heat. Whether a heat pump can replace a boiler depends on the required steam pressure and temperature, the source temperature, operating hours, electricity and fuel prices, and how well the equipment is integrated with the process.
How can a heat pump make steam?
A heat pump moves heat from a colder source to a hotter sink. The source may be ambient air, cooling water, wastewater, factory waste heat or another available stream. The compressor uses electricity to raise the refrigerant’s pressure and temperature; the resulting heat is then transferred to process water or another working fluid.
- Evaporation: A low-pressure refrigerant passes through an evaporator and absorbs heat from ambient air or another source. The source can be colder than the process temperature because the refrigerant is colder still.
- Compression: An electric compressor raises the refrigerant pressure. Its temperature rises as a result, creating a usable temperature difference for the next heat exchanger.
- Heat delivery: In a condenser or other heat exchanger, the hot refrigerant transfers heat to process water, air or a steam-generation circuit.
- Expansion: An expansion device lowers the refrigerant pressure and temperature. The refrigerant returns to the evaporator and the cycle repeats.
The process is often compared with a refrigerator operating in reverse. A refrigerator removes heat from its cabinet and rejects it to the room; an industrial heat pump collects low-temperature heat and rejects upgraded heat where the plant needs it. Electricity supplies the compressor work and the pumps and fans, while much of the delivered heat comes from the source.
Ambient air is only one possible source. A factory’s waste stream can be a better source because it starts warmer. A higher starting temperature reduces the temperature lift—the difference between source and delivery temperatures—and usually makes the system easier to operate efficiently.
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How steam is produced in an industrial installation
A heat pump does not automatically produce boiler-like steam simply because it uses hot refrigerant. Designers choose an arrangement that matches the required temperature, pressure, flow and water quality.
Heat pump supplying a steam generator
The heat pump may heat treated feedwater or another intermediate loop. A separate steam generator then flashes or boils that water. This arrangement lets the heat pump operate in a temperature range where commercial equipment is available while the steam generator handles the final phase change and pressure control.
Direct or integrated steam generation
Some high-temperature systems are designed to evaporate water within a heat exchanger or refrigerant circuit. Such equipment requires careful control of refrigerant properties, pressure, oil return, water treatment and safety systems. It is an engineered process unit, not a residential heat-pump adaptation.
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A heat pump can preheat boiler feedwater, provide low-pressure steam, or cover part of a variable load while an electric or fuel-fired boiler supplies peaks. Thermal storage can separate the heat-pump operating schedule from a continuous process. The correct combination depends on the plant’s steam header, pressure levels and load profile.
What temperature can an industrial heat pump reach?
There is no single universal maximum. Temperature claims depend on the equipment class, refrigerant, compressor, source temperature, pressure, and whether the figure refers to a commercial product, a demonstration or a system using recovered heat.
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| Source and context | Temperature or pressure information | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| International Energy Agency, Renewables for Industry executive summary (2025) | Large-scale industrial heat pumps are described as well established up to 150 °C. Electric boilers can generate steam up to 350 °C and around 70 bar. | This is a broad industrial-technology assessment, not a guarantee that an ambient-air system at every site can deliver 150 °C. |
| EECA guidance, New Zealand context | Currently available heat pumps are generally below 100 °C. Up to 150 °C may be possible when waste heat near 100 °C is available; 150–200 °C systems require special refrigerants and compressors and were described as early-stage. | The lower source temperature and the market and date of this guidance matter. Ambient air usually provides a more demanding lift than a warm waste stream. |
| Electric boilers | Up to about 350 °C and around 70 bar in the IEA description. | Electric boilers have a wider high-temperature steam envelope, although their electricity use is close to one unit of electricity per unit of heat before distribution losses. |
These statements are not contradictory. The IEA and EECA discuss different markets, dates, source conditions and equipment categories. A plant that needs high-pressure steam should not assume that a heat pump alone is a drop-in replacement for its existing boiler. A site assessment should specify the required supply temperature, steam pressure, return conditions and peak flow before equipment is selected.
Can an industrial heat pump replace a boiler?
Sometimes, but only when the process requirements and heat source fit. A low- or medium-temperature operation may be converted to hot water or hot air, removing the need for steam in some parts of the plant. Where steam remains essential, a heat pump may supply the base load, preheat feedwater, recover waste heat or work with an electric boiler.
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- Temperature and pressure: What does each process actually require, and is that requirement constant or only a short peak?
- Heat source: Is ambient air available at the required flow, or is there a steadier source such as condenser water, wastewater or exhaust heat?
- Hourly and seasonal load: How often does the plant need heat, and how do heating and cooling loads overlap?
- Electrical infrastructure: Can the site supply compressor power, pumps and fans, or will a transformer, switchgear or grid connection upgrade be needed?
- Economics: What is the local electricity-to-fuel price ratio, including demand charges and network costs?
- Integration: Can the layout accommodate heat exchangers, buffer tanks, controls, water treatment and maintenance access?
- Emissions: How carbon-intensive is the electricity supply compared with the incumbent fuel?
Where the answer is uncertain, a hybrid design can reduce risk. It can cover ordinary operation with recovered or ambient heat and retain an electric or fuel boiler for high-temperature peaks, unusual production campaigns or redundancy.
What a brewery case actually demonstrates
Breweries often need cooling for fermentation and storage while simultaneously needing hot water for mashing, cleaning and other operations. That combination creates an opportunity to recover heat and to use one system architecture for both heating and cooling duties. It does not mean every brewery can turn outside air directly into process steam at a stated efficiency.
A 2023 IEA Heat Pump Conference paper modelled a brewery configuration with simultaneous heating and cooling. The cascade heat-pump arrangement used ambient-air heat exchangers and adapted ambient air as a source or sink as the heating and cooling loads changed. At design conditions, the model used 9.8% less electricity than its reference system. Across the year, the reduction was 2.1% because the demand profile fluctuated.
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Those are numerical results for one modelled configuration, not measured savings at every brewery. The difference between the design and annual figures is important: a system can look attractive at a design point yet deliver a smaller yearly benefit when production schedules, weather and cooling demand vary. A brewery considering the approach should model its own hourly loads and identify when condenser heat, refrigeration waste heat and hot-water demand coincide.
Where factories can use heat pumps
The strongest opportunities are usually processes below the temperature range of conventional high-pressure steam. The IEA identifies food and beverage production as a sector with substantial potential for low-temperature heat electrification. EECA lists food and beverage, dairy, meat, wood products, textiles, indoor cropping and agriculture as potential applications.
Hot water, cleaning and hygiene
Food plants can use a heat pump for wash water, sanitation, pasteurisation support and other hot-water duties. EECA describes refrigeration-condenser waste heat around 25–30 °C as a possible source for water heating to as much as 80 °C. The exact result depends on flow, fouling, controls and the temperature required at the point of use.
Process drying and air heating
Heat pumps can deliver hot air for drying when the required air temperature is within the equipment’s operating range. Air systems must account for humidity, airflow, product residence time and the need to prevent contamination or recirculation of unwanted vapours.
Steam-intensive food processing
Some operations still need steam for cooking, sterilisation or evaporation. A heat pump can recover heat from refrigeration or wastewater, preheat feedwater, or supply a lower-pressure steam stage, while an electric boiler or another source handles the highest-temperature duty.
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Sector-wide opportunity versus site-specific coverage
The IEA’s 2025 commentary says less energy-intensive sectors such as food processing, textiles and machinery account for around 30% of industrial energy use, and about 75% of their heat demand is below 200 °C. These are sector-level figures, not the share that one heat pump can serve at an individual factory. The same commentary cites a 5 MW Norwegian fishmeal heat-pump installation producing process steam; that example is separate from the modelled brewery study.
Does an industrial heat pump work in cold weather?
Yes, a heat pump can absorb heat from cold outdoor air, but colder air generally increases the temperature lift and reduces available capacity and efficiency. Frost can also require defrost cycles, temporarily changing the heat balance. A design based only on a mild-weather rating may therefore underperform during the coldest hours.
Engineers can reduce exposure to cold-air conditions by using a warmer waste stream, combining air with recovered heat, oversizing or staging compressors, adding thermal storage, or retaining a backup heater. The relevant test is the system’s delivered temperature and capacity at the site’s design weather conditions—not a headline rating at a different source temperature.
How much electricity does a heat pump use?
Performance is commonly expressed as the coefficient of performance (COP): useful heat delivered divided by electricity consumed. A COP of 3 means three units of heat output for each unit of electricity at the stated operating point. COP changes with source temperature, delivery temperature, part-load operation, defrosting, pumps, fans and auxiliary equipment.
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The IEA’s example of an output several times greater than electrical input, including an example around four, describes a typical household heat pump and should not be transferred to an industrial steam system. EECA provides indicative industrial COP ranges and examples for its New Zealand guidance, but those figures are application- and location-specific. The reviewed sources do not establish one COP or one savings percentage that applies to every brewery or factory.
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For a fair comparison with a gas or coal boiler, calculate delivered heat at the process boundary. Include boiler efficiency, fuel heating value, electricity demand charges, network fees, heat-pump auxiliaries, maintenance, backup equipment and any required grid work. A higher COP does not automatically produce lower operating cost when electricity is expensive relative to fuel.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to evaluate a project step by step
- Map every heat demand. Record temperature, pressure, flow, return temperature, operating hours, seasonal variation and short peaks for steam, hot water and hot air.
- Map every heat source. Measure ambient conditions, refrigeration condensers, wastewater, exhaust, cooling loops and other streams. Record temperatures, flow rates, fouling and availability throughout production.
- Complete a mass-and-energy balance. EECA calls this comprehensive balance essential. Quantify simultaneous heating and cooling so recoverable heat is not counted twice.
- Reduce avoidable demand first. Check insulation, hot-water losses, steam leaks, condensate return, plant tuning, heat-exchanger cleanliness and process settings before sizing new equipment.
- Choose the temperature architecture. Compare direct hot-water heating, a heat-pump-assisted steam generator, an electric boiler, a hybrid system and thermal storage against the actual pressure and temperature requirements.
- Check the electrical connection. Confirm transformer capacity, protection, controls, spare capacity, connection lead time and demand charges. IEA identifies grid connection lead times as a deployment constraint.
- Model hourly operation. Test weather, production shifts, cooling demand, defrosting, start-up, shutdown and peak events. Report annual energy and cost separately from design-point performance.
- Specify water and refrigerant safety. Include water treatment, pressure relief, leak detection, ventilation, service access and compliance with local codes.
- Decide on storage and backup. Thermal storage can connect variable renewable electricity or off-peak operation with continuous process demand, but it is an option to size deliberately rather than an automatic component.
- Compare lifecycle cost and emissions. Include capital, installation, grid upgrades, maintenance, fuel and electricity scenarios, expected operating life and the emissions intensity of electricity.
Real project evidence and its limits
EECA reports a 1 MW high-temperature heat pump at ANZCO’s Canterbury beef-processing plant in New Zealand, commissioned in March 2022. The project estimated annual emissions savings of 3,080 tonnes of CO₂. That is a project estimate for a particular plant and operating context, not a universal prediction for other factories.
EECA also records a statement from Kate Beddoe, Chief Sustainability and Risk Officer at Silver Fern Farms, describing lower coal consumption, lower greenhouse-gas emissions and lower running costs for hot-water production in that company’s context. A company representative’s statement should be read as a site-specific account, not as independent evidence that every heat-pump installation will achieve the same result.
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Choosing among a heat pump, electric boiler and hybrid system
| Criterion | Industrial heat pump | Electric boiler | Hybrid or heat-pump-assisted system |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Low- and medium-temperature heat, especially where a usable waste source or simultaneous cooling exists. | High-temperature or high-pressure steam where a direct electric steam source is required. | Sites with a large base load plus occasional high-temperature peaks or uncertain source availability. |
| Heat source | Ambient air, wastewater, condenser heat or other low-temperature stream. | Electricity only. | Heat pump plus electricity, recovered heat and retained boiler capacity. |
| Temperature envelope | Depends strongly on source and design; the IEA describes large-scale equipment as established up to 150 °C, while EECA’s New Zealand guidance is generally below 100 °C for currently available units. | IEA cites steam up to 350 °C and around 70 bar. | Uses each device where its temperature and pressure range is most suitable. |
| Main constraints | Temperature lift, cold-weather capacity, source variability, space and integration complexity. | Electricity price, connection capacity and peak demand. | More controls and equipment, but improved resilience and coverage. |
| Storage value | Can buffer variable source heat or electricity against process demand. | Can also use thermal storage, especially with variable tariffs or renewable supply. | Storage can reduce the size or running time of backup equipment. |
There is no universal winner. The appropriate choice follows from the plant’s pressure and temperature requirements, source quality, schedule, electricity and fuel prices, grid conditions, storage needs and emissions goals.
Quick Recap
What readers should remember
- Industrial heat pumps move and upgrade heat; the compressor’s electricity is not the same as resistance heating.
- Steam is possible in engineered systems, but a heat pump is not automatically a replacement for a high-pressure boiler.
- The brewery study’s 9.8% design-point and 2.1% annual modelled reductions show why hourly load profiles matter.
- Food, beverage and other low-temperature industries are promising candidates, particularly where waste heat and cooling loads can be matched.
- A mass-and-energy balance, electrical-capacity check and lifecycle comparison should come before equipment selection.
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