Grid capacity is becoming a hidden blocker to net-zero

Across Europe, organisations are pressing ahead with electrification. Gas boilers are being replaced with heat pumps. Retrofit plans are being drawn up. Net-zero strategies are moving forward.

But too often, these projects run into a critical barrier: the grid can’t supply the energy needed to power them.

Heat pumps don’t fail—until they do

The issue comes down to load. Heat pumps require a significant amount of electricity. When they’re sized to match the output of a gas boiler, without first reducing total demand, they often exceed the site’s available grid connection.

That triggers a cascade of problems: delays while waiting for extra capacity, costly upgrades to the connection. Or no upgrade at all—because the capacity simply isn’t available.

What should have been a significant decarbonisation step becomes a bottleneck. The system is in. But it can’t be turned on.

It’s not an edge case—it’s happening everywhere

In the UK, more than £200 billion in energy projects are currently stuck in grid connection queues (National Grid ESO, 2023). In the Netherlands, grid operators are pausing new connections in areas of high demand. Capacity is capped, and electrification is outrunning infrastructure.

The result? Heat pumps sit idle. Buildings go unheated. Projects stall—not because the ambition was wrong, but because the strategy skipped a step.

What’s going wrong—and how to fix it

The core problem isn’t the heat pump. It’s the assumption that you can plug it in and carry on as before. That approach ignores the one factor you can control: demand. It’s like switching to an electric car but never checking how far the battery can go. You keep driving the same way and then wonder why you’re stuck on the side of the road.

When you optimise performance first, by fixing controls, tuning systems, and reducing waste, you lower the baseline energy use. That means you can install a smaller heat pump. One that might work within the power you already have. One that doesn’t trigger delays, redesigns, or overspend.

Start with the building, not the tech

Sustainability isn’t about what you install. It’s about what you stop wasting.

That’s why insight is essential. You need to know what’s running, what’s using energy without delivering value, and where efficiency can be gained now, not once the project is already in motion.

Your infrastructure has limits—budget, space, and now power. The best projects don’t ignore those limits. They design around them. If electrification is the goal, efficiency is the enabler, and the strongest net-zero strategies are the ones that can actually be delivered.