Pipelife Ireland announced this July that it will sell an indoor monoblock heat pump built specifically for the constraints of Irish apartment blocks. The unit runs on R290 propane, a refrigerant with an ultra‑low global warming potential, and is marketed as a compact solution that fits inside a dwelling.
How the Inova unit is put together
The Inova combines fan, coil, compressor and expansion valve in a single enclosure. Air is drawn and exhausted through ducts, while the sealed refrigerant charge totals only 450 grams, keeping the system within indoor‑installation limits. A gas separator blocks refrigerant from entering the water circuit, and an internal sensor can spin the fan up to full speed to vent any leak.
Safety features are designed to meet EN 14825 testing requirements. The heat pump also carries performance data for hot‑water production under EN 16147, which can be paired with a separate cylinder pre‑plumbed at the company’s Little Island plant in Cork.
Testing that mirrors real‑world installs
Pipelife’s published figures assume the unit sits ten metres from an external wall, with three ninety‑degree bends in the ductwork. That set‑up is deliberately harsh, meant to reflect typical Irish apartment layouts where external‑wall mounting is rarely possible.
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“Nobody’s going to put a heat pump on an external wall — architects have to balance daylight regulations along with everything else, so they won’t have the space to do it,” said Eoghan Considine, Specification Manager at the firm. He added that most industry data come from bench‑tested fan curves, whereas this product is “everything at a worst‑case scenario, not a best‑case scenario.”
The unit delivers 3.2 kW of heating capacity and can be controlled via a smartphone app. It is tested to the relevant EN standards and can be matched with a hot‑water cylinder that is intended to outlast the pump itself. Because the cylinder is separate, technicians can replace the heat pump, fan or compressor from the front of the unit without disturbing stored hot water.
Keeping the cylinder distinct also eases delivery through finished apartment blocks. Installers can maneuver the compact pump through narrow corridors, then hook it up to the pre‑plumbed tank once the building envelope is complete. This modular approach reduces on‑site labor and aligns with the way Irish contractors typically handle heating systems.
Unlike exhaust‑air heat pumps, the Inova does not try to combine heating with ventilation. Its performance does not rely on warm extract air or on occupants leaving wall vents open. “The best heat pumps on the market just function as heat pumps. The best ventilation systems just function as ventilation systems,” Considine said, questioning the logic of hybrid designs that can compromise efficiency.
Instead, Pipelife pairs the pump with its own mechanical‑ventilation‑with‑heat‑recovery (MVHR) units, supplied as complete packages that include ductwork. The company claims this method remains cost‑competitive with combined units while allowing each system to be specified, commissioned and serviced independently.
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For developers of passive‑house apartments, the Inova offers a straightforward route: a conventional monoblock heat pump plus an MVHR system, which can be cheaper than compact combined units and uses a heating approach familiar to local tradespeople.
Since entering the Irish market in 2009, the firm has sold more than 10,000 heat‑pump units and built a fast‑growing ventilation business. The new model reflects lessons learned from that experience, showing how regulatory limits on fluorinated gases can spur practical innovation. It also means installers will see a system that matches the dimensions of typical apartment service shafts.
Beyond the product launch, the company is pushing broader sustainability goals. Its Cork operation, formed from the merger of several local firms, used 7,000 tonnes of recycled material in 2025 and aims to double that figure by 2030. Seven environmental product declarations have been published, with a target of issuing declarations for all products by 2028, supporting a group‑wide ambition that 75 percent of output backs net‑zero construction.
All electricity for manufacturing comes from renewable sources, and on‑site solar generation is planned. Service for the Inova is performed entirely from within the apartment, backed by fortnightly installer training sessions in Dublin and Cork. Each unit ships with a plain‑English homeowner manual alongside the technical documentation.
