Clivet launches VRF heat pumps without PV inverters

A two-module Clivet CVT9 system can deliver 90 kW of nominal heating capacity and up to 100 kW at maximum. The Italian manufacturer’s new VRF — variable refrigerant flow, a system that distributes refrigerant among several indoor units — is aimed at residential and commercial buildings, with single outdoor units spanning 25.2 kW to 45 kW of cooling capacity.

Its distinctive component is not a larger compressor but a different path for solar electricity. Clivet’s PV Box is designed to feed the heat pump with direct current at a variable 400 V to 600 V, according to the company, avoiding a conventional photovoltaic inverter. A Smart Monitoring Box measures the outdoor unit’s electricity consumption, and the planned integrated PV control should adjust grid power use from 0% to 100% according to solar production. Clivet says that control function will become available in 2027.

The CVT9 range uses R32 refrigerant and DC inverter compressors with enhanced vapor injection, plus a secondary microchannel heat exchanger. Clivet says the units can operate in heating mode at outdoor temperatures as low as -30 C, maintain nominal heating capacity at -5 C, and modulate down to 7% of capacity for partial-load operation. Seasonal efficiency values range from 8.00 to 8.58 for SEER and 4.78 to 4.89 for SCOP on the five single-module models.

For building owners, the practical promise is a solar-linked heat pump that can use existing V8 indoor units and controls while reducing dependence on grid power when photovoltaic output is available. Sites with limited electrical capacity also get 60 capacity-limiting settings, adjustable from 40% to 100% in 1% increments. The system can be managed through a centralized controller or a dry contact, and it supports Modbus RTU for building-management systems.

The hardware is launched, but the integrated solar-control function is not yet available: Clivet says it will become available in 2027. The efficiency, temperature and power-management figures are the manufacturer’s claims, calculated according to EN 14825 where stated.