Big house with smaller bills: a renovation project proves that the key to energy saving is in the air.

The initial scenario

Per Grunnert and his wife had been gradually renovating their house and had reached the point where they needed to decide what to do with the old, oil-fired boiler, which was using around 3,000 litres of fuel annually. For many years they had been looking for an alternative that was less expensive to run but they weren’t convinced that there was any solution that could provide sufficient hot water and heat to supply all their radiators. Living in Denmark, where the climate can be quite cold in winter, maintaining a cosy home was particularly important.

The solution

Once the couple had been convinced about the effectiveness of air-source heat pumps thanks to their installer, the conversion was straightforward and surprisingly effective. The old oil powered boiler was completely removed from the basement and replaced by a space saving indoor unit called uniTOWER which is connected through the basement wall with the exterior heat pump aroTHERM plus which was installed discretely in the garden next to the chicken run. The chickens didn’t seem to mind and the neighbours haven’t noticed as the inlet fan is so quiet – no louder than the sound of rustling leaves. The aroTHERM plus heat pump system is no bigger than the boiler it replaced and it supplies all the existing radiators. Unlike the old oil burner, the aroTHERM plus doesn’t consume energy to heat water. This comes from freely available environmental air.

Besides the cost saving and environmental friendly heat pump system, the operation is also very beneficial: If any adjustment is needed, Per and his wife can make it easily from an app on their phone.

Comfort. Without uncomfortable energy bills.

The new aroTHERM plus heat pump system has immediately reduced energy bills by 80% and will pay for itself in around 3 years. It operates reliably, quietly and even the clever process of creating heat energy uses natural refrigerant with a low C02 impact. It has made a major difference to this house, whilst leaving the existing radiator-based heating system untouched.

Why Vaillant?

As an independent engineer himself, it was Per’s job to advise homeowners on energy renovations. He knew that there was not only a cost benefit to switching to an alternative source of heat – although he was surprised that his own home would benefit so much. He also knew from experience that Vaillant had a sound reputation for supplying well-proven heat pump technology