Home / Blog / Vaillant’s Anthracite aroTHERM Range
BLOG · PRODUCT NEWS
Vaillant goes anthracite: the new aroTHERM plus, pro and perform range
Vaillant has unveiled a new-generation aroTHERM family in a sophisticated anthracite finish — the second-generation aroTHERM plus for retrofit, the compact aroTHERM pro for social housing and new build, and the large-output aroTHERM perform — with the range showcased at InstallerSHOW 2026 and merchant availability from July 2026. Here’s what a heat pump designer actually takes from the launch.
- 8 min read
- Published 26 June 2026
- By Phil · Heat Loss Hub
THE RANGE AT A GLANCE
All three lines wear the new anthracite finish and run R290 (propane) refrigerant. The second-generation aroTHERM plus claims CoP up to 5.39 and 44 dB(A) sound with pre-orders from June 2026 and full merchant availability in July. The aroTHERM pro (launched April 2026) brings compact 5, 7 and 11 kW single-fan monoblocs aimed at social housing and new build. The aroTHERM perform tops the family for large homes and commercial projects, with big outputs, cascade capability — and a 2026 iF Design Award on the shelf.
aroTHERM plus — the retrofit flagship, generation two
The aroTHERM plus has been one of the UK retrofit market’s default units for years, so a second generation matters. The headline numbers: coefficient of performance up to 5.39, sound performance of 44 dB(A) with Vaillant’s Sound Safe System, R290 refrigerant enabling high flow temperatures, and a premium semi-touchscreen control interface. Vaillant’s “advanced flexible safety function” also loosens the siting rules that R290’s flammability classification usually imposes — the company’s line is that the unit can now be installed “almost anywhere on the property”, which genuinely matters on tight terrace plots where the clearance zone has historically vetoed otherwise-perfect locations.
Mark Wilkins, Vaillant’s Technology and Solutions Portfolio Director, framed the launch as continuous market-leading innovation — manufacturer-speak, but the engineering pedigree behind it is real. Warranty support runs to 7 years when registered through Vaillant’s myREWARDS platform and paired with a uniSTOR high-recovery cylinder.
And yes — the anthracite finish. Outdoor units have spent a decade apologising for themselves in gleaming white plastic; a dark, architectural finish that recedes against masonry and fencing is a small change that will decide real siting conversations. Aesthetics are a legitimate design constraint; we’re glad a major manufacturer finally noticed.
aroTHERM pro — compact, light and aimed at volume
Launched in April 2026, the pro is the pragmatic sibling: 5, 7 and 11 kW outputs, single-fan construction, compact dimensions (0.75–1.10 m tall depending on model) and lighter casings that make two-person handling realistic. R290 comes as standard, and the same “Flexible Space Function” thinking reduces clearance requirements near windows and doorways — critical on the dense plots social housing and new-build developers actually work with.
Vaillant positions the pro for social housing and new build, and it slots in as the value-engineered complement to the plus. For our design work, the interesting bit is the smallest end: a well-behaved 5 kW unit with honest modulation suits the modern, well-insulated homes that oversized “one range fits all” quoting has historically punished — exactly the sizing discipline we bang on about in What size heat pump do I need?
aroTHERM perform — for when one house needs a plant room
The perform rounds out the family at the top: large outputs (the platform’s 19 and 26 kW class units), cascade capability taking combined systems well past 200 kW, and quiet running that belies the size class. It’s aimed at large residential, multi-dwelling and light-commercial projects — and it collected a 2026 iF Design Award alongside Vaillant’s iQconnect controls, for whatever design juries are worth to a plant room.
For the handful of very large homes we design each year — stone piles on the moors, barn conversion clusters — a properly cascaded pair of mid-size units frequently beats one monster on modulation and resilience. More credible options in that space is welcome news.
InstallerSHOW 2026 and release dates
- aroTHERM pro: available from April 2026.
- aroTHERM plus (gen 2): pre-orders from June 2026; full merchant availability July 2026.
- The full anthracite range featured at InstallerSHOW 2026 (23–25 June, NEC Birmingham) — where the industry duly queued to photograph a dark grey box, ourselves included.
DESIGNER'S INSIGHT
“A CoP of 5.39 is a test-condition number — real homes buy the SCOP their flow temperature earns, whatever badge is on the casing. What actually excites me here is quieter units and relaxed R290 siting clearances: both convert directly into better outdoor unit positions, and position is a design variable I fight for on every tight plot. The specs we’ll verify, as always, from the performance tables at your design conditions — not the launch slide.”
Phil
Founder & Lead Designer, Heat Loss Hub
A designer's honest take
Heat Loss Hub is independent — we hold no Vaillant account and take no manufacturer incentives — so read this as engineering commentary, not endorsement. The new range strengthens an already-strong hand: R290 across the family, credible sound numbers, genuinely useful siting flexibility, and a small-output pro that rewards honest sizing. When a Vaillant unit wins a place in one of our designs it will be for those reasons, demonstrated in the data at your conditions — and when a rival’s tables read better for your house, the rival goes on the drawing instead. That’s what independent design means, in one sentence.
CONTENTS
BRAND-NEUTRAL, ALWAYS
We specify from performance data at your design conditions — Vaillant when it wins, something else when it doesn’t.
BRAND-NEUTRAL BY CHARTER
The right unit is the one your heat loss chooses
Whatever the launch calendar says, your design starts with measurement. Tell us about your home and we’ll select from the whole market at your actual conditions.