Guide | Stiebel Eltron Heat Pumps

Stiebel Eltron Heat Pumps (In Summary)

Stiebel Eltron is a German manufacturer of low carbon heating systems, including air source heat pumps. They rival the likes of Ideal Heating, Vaillant and Grant.

If you’re looking for a low budget heat pump, this isn’t the brand for you. A typical unit - such as the WPL-A 05 5kW - is going to cost £2,000+ more than the equivalent Ideal or Vaillant heat pump. 

After accounting for the UK government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant (£7,500), you’d expect to pay just over £6,000 including installation. 

Reviews online (TrustPilot) are reasonable, but nothing spectacular. They are rated 4.2/5 from just 67 reviews, compared to the likes of Ideal Heating that has a review rating of 4.8/5 from over 60,000 reviews.

Stiebel Elton has plenty of breadth in their range in terms of output, with an array of units starting as small as 5kW, rising to 20kW for residential properties. 

And they have models specifically designed for specialist installations, such as the WPL IKCS Compact; perfect for small space installs. 

Benefits of buying a Stiebel Eltron heat pump include: great after sales care, built-in anti-frost and a long 7-year warranty (when extended from their base warranty of 2-years).

However, there are two downsides. The first being the price. The second is that most of their units need 2m clearance around the fan. This makes most of their units unsuitable for properties that are short on space.

Before getting a quote on your new heat pump, it’s worth using our heat pump grant eligibility checker to ensure you qualify for the £7,500 government grant. 

Stiebel Eltron Heat Pump Review

Who Are Stiebel Eltron?

Stiebel Eltron is a German family owned company, founded in 1924. They're a well known and premium brand in the air source heat pump space, with their UK office being set up back in 2008.

Whilst production takes place in Germany, many of the components for Stiebel Eltron heat pumps are shipped from elsewhere. This includes countries such as Slovakia, Sweden, Thailand and China. 

Heat pumps such as their WPL series rival the likes of Vaillant, Grant and Ideal Heating; some of the top heat pump brands in the industry.

How Much Does a Stiebel Eltron Heat Pump Cost?

Whilst Stiebel Eltron is a premium brand with excellent customer service, one of its major downfalls is price. 

As an example, a typical price you'd expect to pay online for the WPL-A 05 (5kW ASHP unit) sits at around £5,750. This is for the heat pump only, it doesn't include the necessary fittings, pipework, controls or even the cost of labour. 

By comparison, the popular Ideal Logic Air 5kW air source heat pump unit can be found online for as low as £3,200 from a few reputable suppliers. 

And it’s not just the Ideal Logic Air that’s cheaper. If you go for a unit such as the Vaillant aroTHERM 5kW, you’d expect to pay in the region of £3,700. 

This additional cost for the heat pump itself directly transfers into an additional £2,000+ when it comes to total installation price. 

The UK government offers a £7,500 grant for the majority of households. So, for a unit like the Vaillant aroTHERM, you’d expect the total installation cost (after the grant) to be as low as £4,139. 

With Stiebel Eltron units being more expensive to the tune of £2,000+, you’d expect to pay £6,139 or higher for a 5kW unit, including installation. 

Put simply, Stiebel Eltron is at the absolute high end when it comes to price. 

Use our air source heat pump quote tool here to determine the exact price for your heat pump. 

Reviews

An air source heat pump from Stiebel Eltron is not going to be cheap. And like any brand you plan to spend thousands of pounds with, it’s worth checking out their online reviews. 

Due to heat pumps being so expensive, it’s hard to find detailed reviewers from bloggers or Youtubers that have actually used their products. The next best thing? Trustpilot. 

(Source)

They have a reasonable review rating on Trustpilot , currently sitting at 4.2 of 5 stars, from 67 reviews. 

Whilst this is good, the volume of reviews is relatively low. By comparison, Ideal Heating has an average review rating of 4.8 from over 60,000 submissions.

For Stiebel Eltron, the majority of consumers using their products focus on the high quality after-sales service they get from the brand, something that's rare with cheap heat pump manufacturers.

Picking The Right Stiebel Eltron Heat Pump

What Size Heat Pump Do You Need?

Stiebel Eltron offers a range of air source heat pumps, meaning there's one suitable for almost every residential and commercial property. 

In terms of output, there are small units in the 5kW-7kW range, which are perfect for small-medium sized properties. These include the likes of the WPL-A 05 and WPL-A 07. 

For medium to large residential properties, the WPL 19, 24 and 25 are more suitable, with outputs in the 13kW-16kW range available. 

And for extremely large residential as well as small commercial units, there is the WPL 47 and WPL 57, with outputs of 20kW+ available.

If you’re not sure which output is best suited to your property, check out our guide to heat pump sizing here. 

Which Specific Model is Best Suited To Your Property?

Sizing is one thing, but choosing a specific air source heat pump from Stiebel Eltron's range is confusing too. 

Below is a list of some of their most popular heat pumps.

WPL-A 07 Premium

Perfect for small properties looking for high flow temperature (75℃) even when outdoor temperature plummets (operates at as low as -25℃).

Many heat pumps struggle to keep up with heating demand during winter, due to their flow temperature being capped in the 60-65℃ range. This isn’t going to be an issue with the WPL Premium.

WPL-ACS

A high powered unit (14.8kW), designed for larger properties that are short on installation space.

WPL-17 IKCS Compact

Heat pumps aren't exactly small, generally 3-4 times the size of a gas boiler. That said, they're generally installed outside. 

As the name suggests, if you're short on outdoor space, this compact unit could be the perfect solution. 

In Summary

There are dozens of models available in various outputs. To ensure you get the perfect unit for your property, use our clickable heat pump quote tool here. 

Warranty

The warranty on offer is above standard. Heat pumps (even from leading brands) will typically come with 2-5 years warranty. 

With Stiebel Eltron, you’ll get a basic 2-year parts and labour warranty as standard. However, you can register for a further 5-years warranty for a total of 7. 

With heat pumps costing thousands, it makes sense to get one with the longest warranty possible!

Should I Buy A Stiebel Eltron Heat Pump?

Stiebel Eltron has a range of unique selling points:

• Exceptional after-sales care (especially compared to low-end heat pump brands)
• The use of their own refrigerant in some units (R454c) which has a GWP (Global Warming Potential) of just 130; it’s eco-friendly
• Perfect unit to install in coastal areas
• Built-in anti-frost (meaning there’s no need to use glycol or anti freeze valves)
• Doesn’t need to use as many anti-frost cycles as other manufacturers (helping extend its lifespan).

If you have the budget, you won’t go far wrong by installing a Stiebel Eltron ASHP. 

However, due to their units generally weighing in at £2,000+ more expensive than their competitors, other options are worth exploring. These include the likes of the Ideal Logic Air and Vaillant aroTHERM.

Why Don’t More People Buy Stiebel Eltron Heat Pumps?

The biggy here is price. At £2,000+ more expensive than other leading heat pump brands, there are certainly better options out there - from Ideal, Grant and Vaillant - when it comes to value for money. 

From an installation perspective, many Stiebel Eltron units require a 2m clearance in front of the fan. Without this, their units simply won’t be efficient (which defeats the object of installing a heat pump in the first place). 

Typically, this means most units from Stiebel Eltron aren’t suitable for small space installations.

And that’s it for our Stiebel Eltron review. If you’re interested in heat pumps from other leading brands, our heat pump reviews page covers the units offering the best value for money for UK consumers.