Rinnai UK announced on 23 February 2022 that it is expanding its product range in response to demand for decarbonising technology, under the name H3. The range includes commercial heat pumps alongside hydrogen blend ready and hybrid hot water heating systems1. The company said the products will be introduced commercially in separate stages throughout 2022, and that electrical formats will be added to all existing product ranges within the next 12 months1.
The company describes the H3 line as covering natural gas, hydrogen blends, hybrid formation and electrical formats, with heat pumps completing the range as an option for carbon neutral heating and hot water in residential and industrial properties1. Rinnai states that its new products and formats meet or exceed existing or proposed UK legislation or certifications1. No prices, model names, efficiencies or launch dates within 2022 were given in the announcement1.
Chris Goggin, Operations Director for Rinnai, said the company produces over 2 million water heating units a year across five continents, with more than 650 design engineers and testing facilities in Japan, America and Australasia1.
"We must start reducing the use of high carbon content fuels as soon as it is realistic and pragmatic. We have huge populations that want to fight the rate of climate change but there is still the need for assessment of the technical, practical and economic feasibility within the UK's unique housing stock of over 25 million units."
Rinnai has also commissioned a comparative report on gas and electrical appliances using a variety of energy vectors in residential and commercial UK scenarios, including analysis of the energy efficiency of individual products1. The company said the report is headed by a multi-national consultancy in the building sector, with academics supervising the final draft, and that the contract stipulates no third-party interference1. Publication timing for the report has not been reported1.
| Announced element | Stated timing |
|---|---|
| H3 range commercial introduction | In separate stages throughout 20221 |
| Electrical formats added to all existing ranges | Within the next 12 months1 |
| Heat pumps as part of H3 | No date given1 |
| Comparative gas and electrical appliance report | No date given1 |
Why it matters for households
The announcement is a manufacturer's signal about which fuels and appliances it expects to sell into UK homes over the coming decade, rather than a change to any household's current options. Rinnai's framing is that no single fuel or appliance answers every case, and that the UK's housing stock of more than 25 million units needs assessment on technical, practical and economic grounds1. For a household weighing a hydrogen-ready boiler against an electric route, the practical questions remain the same: whether hydrogen blending reaches the local gas network, what an installer will fit, and what running costs apply. The claim that a boiler is hydrogen blend ready describes a product's tolerance of a blend, not a guarantee about the gas supplied to a home, as set out in our guide to whether an existing gas boiler can run on hydrogen. Households comparing the two paths can read our comparison of a hydrogen-ready boiler and a heat pump. Rinnai's existing UK presence is in gas-fired water heating, and its heat pumps and hot water systems sit within the wider heat pumps and boilers and heating markets. Hybrid systems, which pair a heat pump with a gas appliance, are also offered by other manufacturers, including Baxi air source heat pumps.
What happens next
Rinnai says the H3 products will be introduced commercially in stages during 2022 and that electrical formats will be added to all existing product ranges within 12 months of the announcement1. No further dates, and no publication date for the comparative report, have been reported1.
Sources1 cited
- Rinnai H3: Hydrogen, Hybrid, Heat Pumps | Low Carbon Hot Water, rinnai-uk.co.uk