Vaillant has joined Bosch and Mitsubishi in releasing an air-source heat pump that uses R290 as the refrigerant.

The Germany-based heat pump manufacturer said its new heat pump is designed for retrofit installations and new buildings.

“Our new aroTHERM plus in air-to-water hat pump that can also be used in retrofit installations as it can reach high flow temperatures,” Vaillant said on its website. “Even systems with existing radiators, which require flow temperatures of up to 55 C, can be operated efficiently.”

It has a heating capacity of 3.4 kW and 8 kW, measures between 765 mm x 1,100 mm x 450 mm and 1,565 mm x 1,100 mm x 450 mm, and weighs 114 kg, 128 kg, or 210 kg, depending on the variant. The coefficient of performance (COP) varies between 3.9 and 4.6 to heat water to 35 C, with external air down to 2 C, and between 5.3 and 5.7 with external air at 10 C.

The pumps can purportedly produce hot water between 22 C and 75 C. The new devices can be installed indoors or outdoors, but the 190-liter water tank must be installed indoors.

“The acquisition costs are also comparatively low, because the aroTHERM plus is one of the cheaper heat pumps on the market,” according to Valliant.

It said savings can be maximized by pairing the heat pump with rooftop PV. It also noted that the noise level ranges from 54 dB(A) to 59 dB(A) during the day and 46 dB(A) in night mode – roughly equivalent to the sound of a refrigerator.

“If the aroTHERM plus is set up three meters away, the sound pressure level is only 29 dB(A), which corresponds to the ticking of a wristwatch,” said Valliant.