The air units pump air from outside and heat it up in the process. They can often double up as cold air conditioners in the summer months.

Rasmus Leibur, manager of AIT-Nord, on seller of heat pumps, said the high demand is the result of the convergence of several factors, telling ETV news show "Aktuaalne kaamera" (AK) that: "The present need is really great and derives from several factors. First of all, we have a legal framework within the EU which basically says that if you build a new house, you will not get your energy label without a heat pump installed. Also, a result of certain events in the east, natural gas has become very expensive, which in turn has resulted in additional households looking for a solution in a heat pump."

Delivery times have been extended to several months, he told AK.

However, City Kliima heat pumps, a competitor firm, says it is not at present experiencing any shortages.

Product manager Andrus Suve said that: "We don't directly lack heat pumps, we have considered things with a long lead time, and the warehouse is full of items, though we hear that the shortage on the market as a whole is quite large."

Comprehensive solutions to the problem should be sought, he added, not only with insulation and other counter-measures, but also with getting used to lower temperatures.

One member of the public had a geo-thermal heat pump installed several years ago, and told AK that while the rise in electricity still had its effect, rises in natural gas prices do not, and his bills are consequently lower, and particularly will be once heating season starts, than they would have been.

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