Vaillant heat pumps
The aroTHERM plus is the unit we put in more older Yorkshire houses than any other, and the reason is the flow temperature.
4.7 on Trustpilot
No obligation
Why people ask for Vaillant by name
People ask for Vaillant by name more than any other heat pump brand, and usually because a neighbour has one or a plumber mentioned it. It is a fair instinct. Vaillant has been making heating kit since 1874 and the parts and the technical support are there when you need them, which matters more in year seven than any number on a brochure.
The part that actually matters on a Yorkshire semi is the refrigerant. The aroTHERM plus runs on R290, which is propane, and propane will carry a flow temperature up to 75°C. Most heat pumps are built around R32 and run out of puff somewhere around 55 to 60°C. On a 1930s house with cast iron rads and solid walls, that difference is the difference between changing four radiators and changing fourteen.
It is not the cheapest box on the market and we do not pretend otherwise. What you are buying is the ability to fit a heat pump to a house that was never designed for one, without gutting it first.
- R290 propane refrigerant, which carries a higher flow temperature
- Flow temperatures up to 75°C, so more existing radiators stay
- Quiet Mark accredited, which matters for the MCS 020 noise assessment
- MCS listed and eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant
We are a Vaillant installer
The full Vaillant range
We fit the whole aroTHERM plus range, every output in it, plus the uniTOWER and cylinder options that go with them. The bands below are a rough guide to how the range maps onto houses; your size comes out of the heat loss survey.
Roughly how the range maps onto real houses:
Small homes
Flats, bungalows and well-insulated newer houses with a low heat loss.
- Typical output
- Around 3.5 to 5 kW
- Refrigerant
- R290
- Max flow temperature
- 75°C
- Hot water
- Needs a cylinder; no combi equivalent
The typical semi
The commonest size on a three-bed semi once the heat loss survey is done.
- Typical output
- Around 7 kW
- Refrigerant
- R290
- Max flow temperature
- 75°C
- Typical pairing
- 180 to 210 litre unvented cylinder
Larger or older houses
Larger detached houses, and older properties with a heat loss that a 7 kW cannot cover.
- Typical output
- 10 kW and up
- Refrigerant
- R290
- Max flow temperature
- 75°C
- Note
- Above this we would look at a cascade rather than one bigger unit
How Vaillant compares
| Vaillant | A typical R32 unit | A budget import | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refrigerant | R290 propane | R32 | R32 |
| Max flow temperature | 75°C | 55 to 60°C | 55°C |
| Radiator changes on an older house | Fewer | More | More |
| Parts and support in year seven | Established UK network | Usually fine | The risk |
| Price | Higher | Middle | Lowest |
| Best for | Older houses with existing rads | Newer, well-insulated homes | Tight budgets |
The honest verdict
Why we fit a lot of them
- The high flow temperature saves radiator changes on older houses, and radiator changes are where the money goes
- R290 has a very low global warming potential, so it is not a refrigerant that gets legislated out
- Quiet enough that the noise assessment rarely dictates where the unit goes
- Parts, training and technical support that actually answer the phone
What to weigh up
- It costs more than an R32 unit of the same output
- Propane is flammable, so there are siting rules about drains, gullies and openings; we check these at the survey
- It will not do hot water without a cylinder, so if you have a combi you need somewhere to put one
- Running it at 75°C all winter will cost you; the point of the headroom is the cold snap, not the whole season
Questions we get asked about Vaillant
Will a Vaillant heat pump work with my existing radiators?
More often than with most brands, because of the flow temperature. It still depends on the room-by-room heat loss survey: a radiator that is undersized at 75°C is undersized whatever the badge says. What the aroTHERM plus buys you is a much shorter list of rooms that need a bigger rad.
Is R290 safe?
Yes, and it is the refrigerant the industry is moving to. It is propane, so it is flammable, which is why there are rules about how close the unit can sit to a drain, a gully or an opening window. That is a siting question we answer at the survey, not a reason to avoid it.
Does a Vaillant heat pump qualify for the grant?
Yes. The aroTHERM plus is MCS listed, and as an MCS certified installer we apply for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme voucher on your behalf and take it off the price before you pay anything.
How noisy is it?
Quiet enough that it is rarely the constraint. The planning limit in England is 37 dB(A) at the neighbour's nearest habitable room window, and we run the MCS 020 calculation at the survey to prove the position passes before anything is ordered.
What warranty do I get?
Vaillant's own warranty on the unit, with the length depending on registration and servicing, plus our workmanship warranty on the installation. We register it for you rather than leaving you a form.
Get a price for a Vaillant system.
We come and look at the house, tell you whether this is the right unit for it, and put the price in writing. £7,500 or £9,000 off under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, claimed for you.