A closer look at Airas heat pump tech
Swedish heat pump manufacturer Aira is developing new hardware and software, including an inverter, in a bid to launch a comprehensive household energy management system (EMS).
Speaking to pv magazine as part of a media tour of Aira’s R&D facility in Helsingborg, Sweden, chief product and technology officer Kaj af Kleen said the project is in active development. “We are both working on the hardware and the software and starting to draft the optimization, so it’s an active project for sure,” he said.
Aira will not be manufacturing PV panels for its whole home proposition, but af Kleen did reveal the company is developing its own inverter in Sweden. “The reason that we do this is because – it’s the same logic as for the heat pump – if you want to do something really well you need to be able to access all the controls, all the sensors, the firmware,” af Kleen stated. “That requires iterative development, engineers sitting together doing real work and that’s best done in a room together, not across the ocean.”
Full details of Aira’s in-development inverter are not yet available, but Kleen said the company is taking a modular approach, rather than designing an inverter packaged with battery energy storage.
“We are thinking more modular and the reason is we want to have as big of a reach as we can possibly get. A little bit more modular gives us the opportunity to fit these products into basements, garages, attics if you like. So, it’s beneficial for us to not put everything in one unit. It’s also about being able to add on if you want to have two batteries, or scale the solution, or add more solar panels. Our system is very modular.”
Aira intends to eventually offer consumers a complete package for household energy that integrates its heat pump product with solar, battery energy storage, and electric vehicle charging. Company CEO Martin Lewerth told visiting media that the business aspires to be the Spotify of heat pumps, referencing Sweden’s market-leading streaming service.
Launched in 2024, Aira’s heat pump range comprises 6 kW, 8 kW and 12 kW outdoor units with seasonal coefficient of performance (SCOP) ratings of 4.7 at 35 C. The maximum cooling power at 35/18 C is 8 kW and 10 kW for the 6 kW and 8 kW models respectively, with the 12 kW rated at 13 kW. Aira heat pumps use a 230 V power supply, and dimensions comprise 121.6 cm x 100.5 cm x 45.5 cm for the 6 kW and 8 kW variant and 115.2 cm x 150.3 cm x 41.6 cm for the 12 kW. The refrigerant used is propane (R290).
Aira’s specifications for the heat pump record a sound power level of 57 dB for all heat pumps in the range and the company offers each model to consumers with a 15-year “comfort” guarantee.
Aira’s indoor offer consists of an “all-in-one” unit combining a hot water tank and performance optimizer. The indoor unit is available in 100 L and 250 L variants, and the company also offers a compact hydrobox product. Systems also include an Aira thermostat, as well as a selection of buffer tanks and hot water cylinders.
While Aira’s heat pump technology is not radically different from other products on the market, the company is attempting to set itself apart by adopting a fully in-house model running from sales and installation to optimization. Aira manufactures its heat pumps at a facility in Wroclaw, Poland, and it has staff on the ground in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy – key target markets for the business.
Customers who install an Aira heat pump gain access to the brand’s Aira Intelligence EMS platform. It’s this integration of hardware and software that Kaj af Kleen reckons sets the business apart and he argued it brings performance and reliability benefits to consumers.
“One of the benefits of building hardware and software as an integrated solution is that you can access the full stack: sensors, all the controls,” he said. “What we really take pride in is to do energy cost optimization without compromising comfort.”
The Aira CPTO told pv magazine that the company monitors coefficient of performance (COP) data for heat pumps after installation and its heat pumps are optimized to achieve desired temperatures without harming components, and cited the example of overworking compressors as a way of achieving short-term performance but sacrificing product life.
Taking the United Kingdom as an example, af Kleen said Aira was achieving a COP of 3.95 across its entire base of UK heat pumps in November and December.
That number can be determined to a high degree of accuracy, according to Aira’s chief data scientist Jeff Chen, because the company samples sensors on its heat pumps at high frequency. Chen told pv magazine a heat pump installation will have “about 15 sensors” depending on the model. Key sensors include indoor and outdoor temperature, flow temperatures and compressor speed.
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