The Installer Profit Breakdown
See exactly how much you earn per job — and why Karnot outperforms every major brand on installer margin.
Why Our Trade Pricing Delivers Higher Margins
Karnot's direct-from-manufacturer trade model eliminates the traditional distributor tier. Combined with our R290 technology advantage, MCS installer partners consistently earn significantly more profit per job than with mainstream brand alternatives — without charging customers more.
Revenue based on typical UK MCS installer quotes including survey, installation, commissioning and certification. Contact us for your trade account and indicative margin analysis.
Built for MCS Installer Success
Six reasons why forward-thinking MCS installers are making Karnot their primary heat pump brand.
57% Gross Margin on Equipment
Trade pricing gives you exceptional margin versus RRP. Pair with the full £7,500 BUS grant (£9,000 oil/LPG from July 2026) for maximum customer value and close more jobs with confidence.
Full BUS Grant Per Household
£7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant on the air-to-water route — uplifted to £9,000 from July 2026 for oil and LPG households. One grant per property: iZONE cooling is delivered by the same reversible iHEAT, not a separately stacked grant.
Next-Day UK Delivery
Dedicated UK 3PL warehouse stocked and ready. Order by 2pm, delivery next working day. No waiting 6–8 weeks for imports. Keep your install schedule tight.
Free MCS Compliance Packs
Full MCS technical documentation supplied with every unit — product cert data, performance reports, commissioning checklists. Saves £1,200–1,600 per install vs umbrella scheme fees.
F-Gas Future-Proof
R290 (GWP 3) is completely exempt from F-gas phase-down regulations. Zero quota risk, zero refrigerant price spikes. Build your business on a technology that won't be regulated out of existence.
Heat + Cool + Hot Water
One iHEAT unit provides space heating AND cooling AND domestic hot water. Upsell the iZONE fan coil package for a complete home comfort solution — and a bigger invoice. Contact us for cooling upsell pricing.
iHEAT R290 Trade Price List
All prices exclude VAT. MCS compliance packs included with every unit. Next-day delivery from UK warehouse.
| Model | Capacity | Trade Price | Best For | MCS Pack |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iHEAT R290 9.5kW | 9.5kW | POA | 1–3 bed homes (up to 80m²) | Included |
| iHEAT R290 11.5kW POPULAR | 11.5kW | POA | 3–4 bed homes (80–120m²) | Included |
| iHEAT R290 15.5kW | 15.5kW | POA | 4–5 bed homes (120–180m²) | Included |
| iHEAT R290 18.5kW | 18.5kW | POA | Large homes / light commercial | Included |
| iHEAT R290 25kW | 25kW | POA | Commercial / multi-unit | Included |
| iHEAT R290 30kW | 30kW | POA | Large commercial | Included |
| iZONE Fan Coils (x2) | Cooling upsell | POA | Add cooling to any iHEAT install | Included |
| Prices exclude VAT. Trade partners only. Subject to availability. Next-day delivery on in-stock models when ordered before 2pm Monday–Friday. | ||||
Calculate Your Installer Profit
Drag the sliders to model your install margins and project your annual earnings.
One Machine. Three Jobs. Both Seasons.
After the hottest May on record, UK homeowners are asking the same question — can my heat pump cool the house in summer? With iHEAT R290 + iZONE the answer is yes, on the same install, same MCS certificate, same BUS grant. No second machine. No F-gas in habitable space.
Reversible at 7°C or 18°C
In summer the iHEAT cycle reverses. Chilled water at ~7°C feeds iZONE fan coils for fast cooling; or 16-18°C for radiant underfloor cooling. Same outdoor unit. Same pipework. Same MCS install package.
iZONE Smart Radiator Replacements
iZONE fan coils bolt to the same wall positions as the radiators they replace, connect to the same flow and return pipework, and run under 35 dB — quieter than a fridge. Winter: warm air. Summer: cooled and dehumidified air. Silent, full climate control, year round.
Underfloor Heating & Cooling
The same warm water that heats the floor in winter can run chilled in summer. No draughts, no noise, no machinery in sight — the whole floor becomes a low-grade radiant cooling surface. Standard in premium European new-builds. Only possible on a reversible air-to-water heat pump.
Refrigerant Stays Outside
On a hydronic install, the entire R290 charge (under 1 kg) is sealed in the outdoor unit. Water carries the energy indoors. No propane pipework through walls. No F-gas pipework into bedrooms. No leak paths inside habitable space.
Higher Real-World SCOP
Water carries roughly four times the volumetric heat capacity of air. Hydronic systems coast on stored thermal energy, modulate smoothly at part-load, and pair with thermal storage tanks and time-of-use tariffs (Cosy, Go, Economy 7). Real-world SCOP consistently exceeds equivalent air-to-air systems.
Hot Water on the Same System
Air-to-air splits do not make hot water. They heat and cool room air, full stop. Air-to-water systems heat water as their primary output — the same machine that warms your floors in February fills your cylinder year round. One system replaces the boiler. The £2,500 air-to-air route does not.
Why this matters in May 2026
After the hottest May day in UK history (35°C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens on 26 May 2026), the political fight reopened on whether to keep the 2021 passive-cooling building regulations or "make Britain cool again" by encouraging air conditioning. Both sides are arguing about a 1990s split-AC technology choice — refrigerant pipework through walls, separate machines for heating and cooling, F-gas in every room.
The honest answer for a UK homeowner in 2026 is different: one reversible R290 hydronic system, full BUS grant, heating + cooling + hot water on the same install, natural refrigerant sealed outside, no F-gas exposure in the home. Read the full piece →
F-Gas Timeline: Why R290 Future-Proofs Your Business
The regulatory direction is clear. Every milestone tightens the screws on HFC systems. R290 sits outside all of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What margin do MCS installers earn on Karnot R290 heat pumps?
Karnot MCS trade partners earn up to 57% gross margin on equipment. The iHEAT R290 range generates strong installer profit per job after typical labour and overheads — significantly more than standard market alternatives. Contact us for a trade account and full POA price list.
Are Karnot R290 heat pumps eligible for the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) grant?
Yes. Karnot iHEAT R290 air-to-water heat pumps are eligible for the £7,500 Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant in England and Wales when installed by an MCS-certified installer. Households currently heated by oil or LPG (typically off-gas-grid rural properties) become eligible for an uplifted £9,000 grant from July 2026, following the Government's 21 April 2026 announcement and the scheme amendments effective 28 April 2026.
Ofgem awards one grant per property. The separate £2,500 air-to-air grant is a different technology category aimed at direct-electric-heated homes — it cannot be stacked with the £7,500 air-to-water grant. The iHEAT R290 system delivers heating, cooling, and domestic hot water from a single reversible machine; cooling is provided via iZONE smart fan-coil emitters on the same hydronic install, not as a separately grant-funded add-on. Karnot provides full MCS compliance documentation with every unit, and 0% VAT applies to qualifying heat pump installations until 31 March 2027.
What MCS compliance support does Karnot provide to installer partners?
Every Karnot iHEAT R290 unit includes a free MCS compliance pack with all required technical documentation, saving installers £1,200–£1,600 per job compared to umbrella scheme fees. Packs include MCS product certification data, technical specifications, performance test reports, installation guidelines, and commissioning checklists aligned with MCS 020 and MCS 007 standards.