Sources? I am also considering switching my heating system and will be waiting a bit if it’s proven that new gen comes in 2028 ans if price/efficience will be better.
Thanks for the details 
!
Unfortunately I am not able to predict the future and underline it with reliable sources 
Anyway, I followed closely the development of R290 Heatpumps in the last 3 years (focused on brine models though)- I wanted to take advantage of this coolant as well. What I saw is that major producers pushed back releasedates 1 or 2 years (for indoor systems, eg Stiebel Eltron, Alpha Innotec).
Also there is recent research (i think 1-3 years old) from Frauenhofer institute (LCR290 Project, finished end 2025) about compressor units with less than 150gr R290. I assume these findings are not yet included in the products currently on the market.
And last but not least, R290 is a new technology compared to other coolants. It is common that with new technology product lifespan is shorter.
do you have a seperate warm water heater you will keep or do you know why its not included in the offer from meier tobler?
Yes, I do have a separate water boiler.
Thanks for the feedback. I was asking because I’ve been offered two options: either installing a new-generation R290 heat pump, or installing a previous-generation model with a substantial discount (the exact amount still to be communicated).
On a forum where savings matter, a sound trade-off between price and efficiency seems decisive to me. 
Discount should be huge, considering the new generation R290 unit pumps cost 13,5 k CHF - 12KW model.
where is that price from? I guess thats not the price offered by a heating installer? They typically give you one (much higher price) for the full installation, no price just for the unit. To make it most difficutl to compare offers..
I see. Not sure if I understand the last sentence correctly, but: R290 does not mean a higher efficiency per Se. R290 has advantages in casese of leaks. For other coolant products you should check the rules if refilling is possible in the future (depending on GWP value: Kältemittel ).
I got a quote around 11 to 14k for two different heat pumps. Price are for the unit only.
It’s from the heating installer and here is the model I was referring to: Meier Tobler E-SHOP - für Wegweisende Haustechnik-Lösungen für die ganze Schweiz (but other sites place it in the same price range). The same heating installer gave me the above posted offer quote of 34k.
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Ah so they have no public prices. Didnt know that. thanks!
Is this a “Vorlauftemperatur-Absenkungstest”? Claude suggested to ask anybody I contact for an offer to include it in the planning, in order to properly size the machine that needs to be bought.
Am I right that such test should be done in winter and therefore I missed the chance to replace the heating this summer?
This would be one part of it. It is the only way to find out which Vorlauf temperature is needed at a certain outdoor temperature (including possible solar heat gains).
for Air water heat pumps you should get these datapoints (vorlauf Temp depending on outdoor points for example for -5, 0, 5, 10 degree. You need the for Bivalente Auslegung.
But it has another use: very often traditional heating systems are set to high. this means the burner in the cellar os producing much heat. But the Thermostats im the rooms are on position 2 or 3 limiting the flow of the water. This setting is good for the installtion companies, they have no complains about houses that are cold, because everybody knows how to open a thermostat but only few know the settings of their heating machines. But it causes in general a higher use of energy. This is not important for a oil burner from a technical point of view, but for a heat pumps it is important that she can run almost 24/7 because stops and starts are bad for efficiency and product lifetime
And yes, this needs to be done when it is cold. always a good idea to start with planning 1-2 winter ahead (installing some shelly temperature sensors, collect Data for 1-2 winter)
for oil heaters, would you recommend the same thing: set all thermostats to high and then adjust the heat curve to deliver sufficient heat to the coldest room and then use themostat in other rooms to reduce heat output to desired level?
Wood distance heating here, but also relevant for oil heaters, we tuned the heating settings a bit down the first winter we came in. It was set much too high, especially during the night. We also tweaked the heating curve but very slightly as it is super sensitive and takes a couple days to settle. Our thermostats in our dining and living rooms are now always between 3 and 4 for the room temperature to be comfortable enough.
We then also decreased the flow setting of the circulation pump, which was set to the highest position, meaning there was practicly no difference in temperature between the “in” and “out” water.
Simple changes in the settings allowed to decrease the water temperature (for the heating system) significantly, as well as the electricty consumption of the pump (less significant savings).
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Does this really matter for distance heating (and also for oil heating for that matter)?
I thought that, keeping the heating water temperatur (vorlauftemp) low only really matters for heatpumps as they are more significantly more efficient for lower temp deltas.
For distance heating you pay the energy delto (water flow and temperature difference, asaik) - how does lower temperatur setting help here? The total energy consumption should stay the same unless you go with overall lower temperature in your house (e.g. 20 degrees instead of 22)
Yes. I did it when I overtook my parents house. They still live in the house, having the same temperature, but I reduced oil consumtion significantly
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I am not expert enough to go into details.
for oil/wood heaters it matters. If Delta Vorlauf/Rücklauf is small, they might go into on/off mode (Takten) and me less efficient.
For distance heating probably less when you only pay kwh consumed. But I think energy losses are less at lower temperatures. And maybe it is easyer to adjust at low temperatures level with constant flow than high temperatures.
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