The Ultimate Guide to Vaillant Heat Pumps

An Overview of Vaillant

The company was established in 1874 and is celebrating its 150th anniversary. In that time, Vaillant has been a pioneer in heating systems through the years, with their focus now on low carbon and renewable heating methods. They’ve produced ground, air and hybrid heat pumps across the years.

Still operating as a family-run Germany business, Vaillant has a manufacturing plant in Derbyshire. They’ve been manufacturing heat pumps since 2006, perfecting them into their modern day iterations in 2020. With environmentally friendly refrigerant and high efficiencies, you know that they’re a brand you can trust.

Types of Vaillant Heat Pump

There are currently four types of heat pump available from Vaillant. These are:

• aroTHERM

• aroTHERM plus

• aroTHERM split

• flexoTHERM

All of these are air source models, except for flexoTHERM, which can be a combination of air, ground and water source.

aroTHERM

This is the standard Vaillant air-to-water heat pump, which is capable of providing your home with heating and hot water. It’s highly efficient with low energy consumption, helping you save on your energy bills.

Power options: 5, 8, 11 and 15kW

Energy efficiency rating: A+++

SCOP: Up to 5.03

aroTHERM plus

This Vaillant heat pump is described as the perfect heating and hot water solution. It’s an air-to-water solution that can be combined with a low flow hot water cylinder to cover your entire home’s heating and hot water. It also features the Quiet Mark, with most models only being as loud as 54dB.

R290 refrigerant is used instead of other manufacturers’ R32. The reason being that it has a Global Warming Potential (GWP) index of 3 compared to R32’s 675. It’s a much more environmentally friendly solution.

Power options: 3.5, 5, 7, 10 and 12kW

Energy efficiency rating: A++/A+++

SCOP: Up to 5.03

aroTHERM split

This model of Vaillant heat pump has two modules: one indoor and one outdoor. It’s also capable of meeting both your heating and hot water needs just by extracting heat in the air.

Even though it has super quiet operation, the outdoor unit can be installed up to 15m away from your property. This gives you more flexibility in how to heat your home.

Power options: 3.5, 5, 7, 10 and 12kW

Energy efficiency rating: A++

SCOP: Up to 4.69

flexoTHERM

If you want more out of your heat pump system, the flexoTHERM Vaillant heat pump is useful for properties with bigger heating demands. It concentrates on your central heating, giving you heat from different energy sources. This can be from either the air, ground or water, in the most efficient way.

You can add a low flow cylinder to the mix for hot water, giving you true versatility compared to any other model. In terms of heat pump technology, Vaillant is ahead of the curve. Some of these models even have the Quiet Mark.

Power options: 5, 8, 11, 15 and 19kW

Energy efficiency rating: A+++

SCOP: Up to 5.34

Cost of a Heat Pump from Vaillant

It goes without saying that ground source models are more expensive than air source ones. This is because there’s more parts to them and the installation is much more intrusive. Realistically, most people will only be able to opt for an air source heat pump because of space limitations.

For a Vaillant heat pump, you can expect to pay anything from £3,000 to over £7,500, depending on the model you choose. Bigger, more powerful types will set you back more, but will give you better reductions in your energy bills.

In total, you should expect to pay around £10,000 for an air source heat pump and anything from £20,000 for a ground source type. This includes the price of installation as well, not just the unit itself.

You can see average costs for various Vaillant heat pump models in the interactive graph below.

Boiler Upgrade Scheme

For homeowners in England and Wales, you can make use of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to help lower the cost. This has the power to give you £7,500 off the installation of the Vaillant heat pump of your choice.

Funding has been set aside by the UK Government to help drive interest in heat pumps. The scheme will be led by the installer and has been extended to run until 2028. This means that the installation can work out much more affordable for the average household, at £2,500.

Vaillant Pros and Cons

Though the technology is certainly impressive, it’s worth looking at both the benefits and drawbacks to Vaillant heat pumps.

Advantages

• Lower energy bills

• Quiet in operation

• Money off through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme

• Highly efficient

• Intuitive controls

• Durable

• UK based

The Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) averages out how energy efficient your Vaillant heat pump is throughout the year. The higher this is, the more you can expect to save on heating bills. A SCOP of 4.6, for example, will give you 4.6 times the heat for every unit of energy consumed.

Most Vaillant heat pumps have the Quiet Mark, or are at least quieter in operation than other manufacturer models. They are designed with durability in mind, thanks to their German engineering.

You can also control your system from anywhere using the dedicated myVAILLANT app. This gives you better flexibility and understanding in how your heating is working. If you run into any issues, the UK based Vaillant heat pump headquarters can always help, with hundreds of installers all over the country.

Disadvantages

• High cost

• Discontinued models

• Space requirements

You can’t get away from the high upfront cost with heat pumps. Even with the generous £7,500 grant from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the initial cost can be too much for plenty of households.

Additionally, you might have been set on an older Vaillant heat pump that used to be available but isn’t anymore. Discontinued models can only be bought second-hand from reputable vendors, which means you won’t get any associated warranty.

Finally, you need both internal and external space to be able to install a Vaillant heat pump. The outdoor unit needs to fit somewhere, and any cabling and pipework may need to be connected to the indoor unit (if you have one).

Why Choose a Vaillant Heat Pump?

There are many reasons why you should consider Vaillant instead of another manufacturer like Mitsubishi.

1. Trusted brand. Vaillant has been manufacturing and producing heating solutions for 150 years, so you know they’re a name you can trust

2. Easy repairs. Having a UK based headquarters allows for support and repairs to be conducted quickly and efficiently. Vaillant heat pumps also come with superb customer service

3. Award-winning features. As an award-winning supplier, you can rest easy knowing your chosen model is one of the quietest or most efficient on the market

4. Environmentally-conscious refrigerant. Other manufacturers continue to use R32, while Vaillant heat pumps work on R290, which is much more economical to use

5. Intuitive controls. The new range of sensoCOMFORT controls allow you to manage your heating and domestic hot water across multiple heating systems. Linked to the myVAILLANT app, you can view all sorts of data relating to your system

There are other benefits that a heat pump can bring. For starters, they help in reducing your carbon footprint and lowering your energy bills at the same time. A Vaillant heat pump can be as efficient as over 500%, meaning you’ll get 5 times the amount of heat from them compared to a 100% efficient boiler.

The main benefit is the government incentive of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme. As long as you’re changing from a fossil fuel boiler to a low carbon heat pump alternative, you should qualify for £7,500 off.

Vaillant Heat Pump Reviews

Don’t just take our word for it; Vaillant customers are happy with their purchases. According to Trustpilot, the manufacturer has a rating of 4.4 across more than 20,000 reviews. A massive 78% of them are 5 stars.

Plenty of reviews cover boilers instead of Vaillant heat pumps, but the same principles of customer care and professionalism will still count.

You should now be more informed about various heating options from the manufacturer. If you want to know how much you’d pay for a heat pump from Vaillant, click on the button below for a tailored quote.