We’ve just completed our first installation of the Vaillant aroTHERM plus, an air-to-water monobloc heat pump. Our first impressions are that it is very, very quiet, it has a fantastic maximum flow temperature, it appears to have good SCoP performance, and it’s a lovely-looking piece of kit!
The SCoP (Seasonal Coefficient of Performance) is a key factor in how much the heat pump will cost to run. The higher the SCoP at a specific flow temperature, the more energy the heat pump delivers for a given amount of energy in and therefore the less it costs to run. Here are the SCoP figures published by MCS:
With a boiler flow temperature of 35°C, the heat pump delivers 4.36kW of usable heat for every kW of energy used from the supply.
With a boiler flow temperature of 55°C, the heat pump delivers 3.39kW of usable heat for every kW of energy used from the supply.
While setting the heat pump to deliver a higher flow temperature will cost more to run, it may well be a viable option for customers who do not want to replace their radiators and pipe system. With a maximum flow temperature of 75°C, this unit has the potential to be a viable replacement for some conventional boilers without the need to upgrade radiators and pipework.
The quality of the kit is very high, as you would expect from a German-engineered product.
The wireless control system offers an excellent level of control with some very useful features such as setting the temperature of the house back when you’re out.
This system was a direct replacement for the heat pump installed by the house builders. Our client wasn’t happy with the previous unit’s performance, flow temperature, noise and its rather “agricultural” look. The new system could not be more different in performance, noise and looks! I won’t name the manufacturer of the previous heat pump because I wouldn’t want to get into hot water – well that heat pump didn’t produce much so maybe I’m OK!!!
The takeaway here is definitely that you get what you pay for. I’ll get some feedback from the client in the coming months and provide an update on how they're getting on with this Vaillant heat pump.
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