A worldwide overview of greener buildings and heat pump patents
Part of a series of short reports looking at the worldwide patenting of green technologies. This report focuses on the greener building and heat pump patent landscapes.
Documents
Details
In June 2019, the UK became the first major economy to set a legally binding target to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. In November 2020 the UK government released a ten point plan for a green industrial revolution. Innovation has a role in helping to achieve carbon net zero and innovation may be reflected in global patenting trends.
This report is part of a series of studies relating to the technologies covered within the UK government’s ten point plan for a green industrial revolution. This report looks at the worldwide patent landscape in relation to greener buildings and heat pumps. It looks both at greener buildings in general, as well as focusing specifically on heat pumps. Heat pumps are devices which heat buildings by transferring thermal energy from a cooler space to a warmer space. These can use various sources, including air, ground (geothermal), and water. Hybrid systems also exist, which can draw heat from various sources.
The purpose of this report is to help show where in the world patenting activity is occurring. It also shows who owns these patents, as well as how patenting activity has varied over time. This report looks both at the worldwide patent landscape, as well as focusing on the patent landscape within the UK.
The growth in the number of greener building patents worldwide has been steadily increasing from 2001-2018. This suggests that technological development in this area has been ongoing for some time and is continuing to develop.
A large proportion of greener building patents relate to electronics. This suggests some focus on technological advancements around smart home technologies. This is supported by the number of patents related to heating of buildings (e.g. smart home heating technologies).
The worldwide landscape for heat pumps has seen a significant increase in patent applications in recent years. This suggests that may have been an increase in R&D relating to heat pump technology in recent years, which is being reflected in patenting activity.