VRV 5 heat recovery: the third pipe is the decision
Simultaneous heating and cooling comes from a three-pipe layout fixed at first fix, not from a control setting. What Daikin publishes, and what Shirudo removes.
What this means
A VRV 5 heat recovery system uses three pipes, gas, liquid, and discharge, with branch selector boxes deciding what each indoor unit does. That layout is what allows one zone to heat while another cools, and it is fixed by the pipework rather than by a setting. Daikin publishes outdoor capacity to 90 kilowatts in heating at 28 horsepower and seasonal space cooling efficiency up to 298.3 percent.
Equipment and model context
Daikin VRV 5 heat recovery on R-32
- VRV 5 heat recovery outdoor units to 28 horsepower and 90 kilowatts heating
- VRV 5 heat recovery branch selector boxes
Daikin's European and United Kingdom VRV 5 heat recovery range on R-32. North American VRV product is supplied under different model designations and its own regulatory timetable, and Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US has stated separately that R-32 becomes the variable refrigerant flow standard from 1 January 2026.
What this guide covers
- A building where perimeter offices need cooling while a core needs heating on the same day.
- A refurbishment where riser space decides what pipework can be installed.
- A specification asking whether an R-32 VRF system triggers minimum room area calculations.
What changes the answer
- Simultaneous heating and cooling requires a discharge pipe and a branch selector, which are structural.
- The refrigerant safety classification brings a room size question that the system design has to answer.
What the third pipe buys
A two-pipe VRV runs the whole system in one mode at a time. A three-pipe heat recovery system carries a discharge line alongside the gas and liquid lines, and a branch selector box uses it to feed each indoor unit whichever condition it asks for.
The energy argument follows from that. Heat taken out of a zone being cooled is available to a zone asking for heat, so on a day when both requests exist at once the system moves heat between them rather than rejecting it outdoors and generating it again elsewhere. Daikin describes this as transferring heat from areas requiring cooling to those that need heating.
The building type decides whether that ever happens. A south-facing perimeter and a shaded core produce it daily through spring and autumn. A single-aspect open floor with uniform load does not, and the third pipe is then paid for and unused.
The published figures and what each one describes
Daikin gives outdoor unit capacity up to 90 kilowatts in heating at 28 horsepower, seasonal space cooling efficiency of up to 298.3 percent, and a 13 percent increase in performance against the previous generation. Sound pressure reaches down to 40 dB(A) across five low sound steps.
A seasonal efficiency stated as a percentage is a different quantity from a coefficient of performance, and the two are not interchangeable on a specification. It is an energy-related products figure computed over a season, which is why it exceeds 100 percent without making any claim about a single operating point.
The five low sound steps matter on a refurbishment more than the top figure does. A plant deck over an occupied floor, or beside a residential boundary, is a night-setback question, and a stepped rather than binary quiet mode is what lets capacity be traded against sound rather than switched off.
R-32 and the room size question Shirudo answers
R-32 is a single component refrigerant, which Daikin notes is easier to handle and recycle than a blend, with a 71 percent reduction in global warming impact and 15 percent less charge than R-410A. It is also A2L, and an A2L system holding a large charge and serving small rooms is where minimum room area rules apply.
Daikin's answer is Shirudo, described as factory-integrated refrigerant control that keeps the system compliant with the relevant IEC product standards and removes the need for complex and time-consuming calculations at design stage.
That is a design-time claim rather than an exemption. What it changes is where the burden sits: on factory-integrated mitigation rather than on a room-by-room calculation performed by the designer. The rules the mitigation exists to satisfy are still the rules the installation is judged against.
What the branch selector box redesign is for
Daikin describes a completely redesigned branch selector box that can be installed 5 millimetres from a ceiling. In a refurbishment with a shallow void, that dimension is the difference between a heat recovery system fitting and not fitting.
Refrigerant Flow Through is named as reducing the number of brazing points. Every brazed joint on a refrigerant circuit is a future leak candidate and a unit of site labour, so a reduction shows up twice: in commissioning time and in the leak-check history the building will carry for the life of the system.
Both changes are installation economics rather than performance, which is the part of a VRF decision that a specification sheet comparison leaves out.
| The building | Where it points |
|---|---|
| Perimeter and core with opposite loads | Heat recovery, because both requests coexist |
| Single-aspect uniform floor plate | Two-pipe heat pump, the third pipe stays idle |
| Mixed retail and back-of-house | Heat recovery, loads diverge by use rather than aspect |
| Shallow ceiling void | The 5 millimetre branch selector clearance decides it |
| Small rooms on an A2L system | Shirudo is what Daikin offers against the room area rule |
| Plant near a residential boundary | The five low sound steps down to 40 dB(A) |
| Figure | Published value |
|---|---|
| Outdoor heating capacity | Up to 90 kilowatts, 28 horsepower |
| Seasonal space cooling efficiency | Up to 298.3 percent |
| Gain over the previous generation | 13 percent |
| Refrigerant | R-32, single component |
| Charge against R-410A | 15 percent less |
| Sound pressure | Down to 40 dB(A), five steps |
Two of the three exist on any VRV system. The third is what a branch selector switches against, and it is the one that cannot be added later without opening the risers.
- Liquid lineCondensed refrigerant toward the indoor units
- Suction gas lineReturns vapour from units in cooling
- Discharge lineHot gas to units calling for heat
- Branch selector boxSets which condition each indoor unit receives
Questions people ask about this
What is the difference between VRV heat recovery and heat pump?
A heat pump system runs in one mode at a time on two pipes. A heat recovery system adds a discharge pipe and branch selector boxes, so individual indoor units can heat while others cool and heat moves between them instead of being rejected outdoors.
Can a two-pipe VRV be converted to heat recovery later?
The distinction is the pipework. A three-pipe layout and branch selector boxes have to be installed, so the change is a first-fix decision rather than a control setting or an outdoor unit swap.
What is Daikin Shirudo?
Daikin describes it as factory-integrated refrigerant control that keeps a VRV 5 installation compliant with the relevant IEC product standards and removes the need for complex and time-consuming room-size calculations at design stage.
How efficient is the Daikin VRV 5 heat recovery range?
Daikin publishes seasonal space cooling efficiency of up to 298.3 percent and a 13 percent increase in performance against the previous generation. That is a seasonal energy-related products figure rather than a coefficient of performance at one operating point.
Why does R-32 need less refrigerant than R-410A?
Daikin states a 15 percent charge reduction alongside a 71 percent reduction in global warming impact. R-32 is also a single component rather than a blend, which Daikin notes makes it easier to handle and recycle.
How close to a ceiling can a branch selector box be fitted?
Daikin publishes 5 millimetres for the redesigned VRV 5 branch selector box. In a refurbishment with a shallow ceiling void that clearance is what decides whether a heat recovery layout is buildable.
Evidence recordHow this page was checked
official manufacturer support article · checked 2026-09-07
Every technical claim above was written from primary documentation held in the HVAC Bench evidence record: Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US and Daikin Applied technical literature. Where a source limits a definition to certain models, test conditions, or product classes, that limit is repeated here rather than generalised.
- Documentation class
- official manufacturer support article
- Scope of the definition
- Daikin VRV 5 heat recovery on R-32
- Last checked
- 2026-09-07