Ideal Heating announced the HP290 on 21 May 2024, describing it as its first domestic air source heat pump to use R290 refrigerant. The company said the unit is a monobloc design intended to provide heating and hot water throughout the year1.
The maker states the HP290 has a seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) rating of over 500 per cent, and that it is compatible with radiators and underfloor heating. It can be paired with the company's pre-plumbed hot water cylinder and Halo Lite RF thermostat to form what Ideal calls a comprehensive low-carbon heating package. A control box consolidates the electrical components, which the company says streamlines installation and lets households monitor system performance1.
Ideal Heating said the HP290 follows the launch of its Logic Air heat pump and applies the same principles of ease of installation, maintenance and performance. The company said its UK-based support team is available 364 days a year, and that its Expert Academy provides training for installers, including free and affordable courses and Skills Bootcamps run in partnership with the Department for Education. Ideal Heating is part of Groupe Atlantic1.
The announcement gives no price for the HP290, no confirmed launch date beyond the 21 May 2024 publication, no output sizes or model range, and no efficiency figures beyond the SCOP claim. It also does not state which grant or scheme, if any, the unit is eligible for. Those details have not been reported1.
Why it matters for households
The refrigerant a heat pump uses affects both its environmental impact and how the unit is installed and serviced. R290, also called propane, is a refrigerant with low global warming potential compared with the F-gas refrigerants historically common in heat pumps, and it is the subject of separate comparisons with R32 units. Ideal Heating's own framing of the HP290 rests on that lower environmental impact1.
For a household, the practical points in the announcement are the claimed efficiency, the stated compatibility with existing radiators and underfloor heating, and the packaged pairing with a cylinder and thermostat. A SCOP above 500 per cent, as the maker describes it, would mean more heat delivered per unit of electricity across a heating season than a system rated below that figure, though the announcement does not give the test conditions or the specific model to which the figure applies1.
The HP290 is one more option in a market where households weighing a switch from a gas boiler compare running costs, installation requirements and support arrangements. Ideal Heating's stated emphasis is on installer familiarity and after-sales response rather than on price or grant eligibility, neither of which appears in the announcement1.
What happens next
No dated next steps are given. The announcement does not state when the HP290 will go on sale, what it will cost, or when installer training for the specific model begins1.
Sources1 cited
- The HP290 Heat Pump: Low-Carbon Heating Solutions, idealheating.com