Equipment installed on this project
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Complete gas boiler replacement with 64kW Daikin VRV heat recovery system. 12 indoor units with Blue Fin coastal protection.
Marbella Villa: 64kW Gas Boiler to Daikin VRV Heat Pump Conversion
Case Study: Complete Gas-to-Electric Transition with 64kW Daikin VRV Heat Recovery System
Written by Ben Hayden, Independent Energy Advisor
75%
Cost Savings
COP 4.5
Efficiency
64kW
Capacity
12
Indoor Units
Location
Marbella, Costa del Sol
Property Type
Luxury Villa (380m²)
Previous System
Gas boiler central heating + split AC units
New System
64kW Daikin VRV Heat Recovery System
Total Capacity
12 indoor units, 2 outdoor units
Installation Date
Completed 2024
The Challenge
The villa owner faced multiple issues with their existing heating and cooling setup:
Our VRV Heat Recovery Solution
We designed a complete gas-to-electric transition using Daikin's flagship VRV heat recovery technology:
64kW Heating/Cooling Capacity
Two 32kW outdoor units provide more than adequate capacity for the 380m² property with room to spare
Heat Recovery Technology
Energy recovered from rooms being cooled is redirected to rooms needing heat - up to 30% additional efficiency
12 Indoor Units
Mix of ducted, wall-mounted, and cassette units tailored to each room's requirements and aesthetics
Blue Fin Anti-Corrosion
Daikin's Blue Fin coating on all outdoor coils protects against salt air corrosion - essential for coastal properties
Running Costs Comparison
Actual monitored costs before and after installation (12-month average):
Based on real utility bills from the property. 380m² villa with pool, full occupancy year-round.
| System | kWh/month | Cost/month | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Previous (Gas boiler + Split AC) | N/A | €380 | €4,560 |
| New Daikin VRV System | ~800 kWh | €95 | €1,140 |
€285
Monthly Savings
€3,420
Annual Savings
75%
Cost Reduction
6-7 years
Payback Period
Costs based on actual utility bills. Gas eliminated completely. Electricity rate €0.12/kWh average (PVPC tariff with solar offset). View source
Professional Installation
Our certified Daikin engineers completed the installation over 5 days:
Expert Insight
"VRV heat recovery is the ultimate technology for large properties. Unlike conventional split systems where heating and cooling run independently, VRV redirects waste heat from one zone to another. When the kitchen is being cooled and the bedroom needs warming, the system transfers that energy instead of generating new heat. We've measured 30-40% efficiency gains over standard multi-split installations. The 64kW capacity easily handles this 380m² villa with capacity to spare for future extensions. And the Blue Fin coating is non-negotiable for Marbella - standard outdoor units corrode within 5 years near the coast."
Rob Greeves
HVAC Director, Agua Therm
Electrical Integration
"Converting from gas to an all-electric VRV system required careful electrical planning. We upgraded the main distribution board to handle the 64kW load with dedicated three-phase supply to each outdoor unit. The VRV system draws significantly less power than you'd expect - with COP 4.5, the electrical consumption is only about 14kW to produce 64kW of heating. That's less than running 14 electric heaters! The system is now perfectly positioned for solar integration - adding a 15-20kW solar array would cover most of the HVAC energy needs during daylight hours."
Craig Whitham
Electrical Director, Agua Therm
Premium alternative · What we could also have installed
How Airzone could supervise the 12 Daikin VRV indoor units from a single app
This Marbella villa now runs on 64 kW of Daikin VRV IV+ heat recovery — 2 RXYQ16T outdoor units and 12 indoor units (6 ducted, 4 wall, 2 cassette) managed by Daikin's Intelligent Touch Manager. It is the reference combination for a 380 m² villa. But there is an additional control layer worth understanding: Airzone — a manufacturer headquartered in Málaga, 60 km from Marbella — builds Aidoo Pro adapters dedicated to Daikin's VRV family that connect to the P1/P2 bus on each indoor unit (or to the outdoor DIII-Net bus) and expose the complete system to the Airzone Cloud app, HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant and the villa-grade home-automation protocols (KNX, Modbus RTU/TCP, BACnet IP).
As accredited Airzone installers on the Costa del Sol — the system is deployed and documented in our Mijas Airzone Flexa 4.0 UFH case study · more on our Airzone work — we know the three product paths that apply to a multi-port VRV like this one. Critically, Airzone does not replace Daikin's Intelligent Touch Manager: the two coexist on the same bus.
Daikin VRV–specific adapter that connects to the P1/P2 bus of each indoor unit — ducted, wall and cassette included. Exposes mode, setpoint, fan speed, louvre control and per-port electrical consumption to the Airzone Cloud app, without removing or disabling Daikin's Intelligent Touch Manager.
12 adapters, one per indoor unit — distributed across ground floor, first floor and service area.
A single app shows the state of all 12 indoor units: setpoint, mode, consumption and schedules — alongside the overall VRV heat-recovery balance (which zones are giving heat to which zones). Supports scenes ('all OFF when arming the alarm'), geofencing and per-room schedules with different setpoints between weekdays and weekends. The Daikin Intelligent Touch Manager remains active on the plant-room panel for service diagnostics.
Especially useful for non-resident owners and villas with intense seasonal use.
For villas already integrating — or planning — Loxone, Crestron, Control4, Vimar or an advanced HomeKit setup, Aidoo Pro exposes the 12 VRV ports over KNX, Modbus RTU/TCP and BACnet IP. The integrator sees them as native devices and can tie them to presence sensors, blinds, lighting scenes and the pool.
Local REST API + Home Assistant integration for technical users.
Aidoo PRO 4G option — supervision without owner-managed Wi-Fi
For holiday-let villas or second homes, Airzone offers the Aidoo PRO 4G variant with built-in cellular modem and managed SIM — the villa stays connected to the cloud even if a guest resets the router. It lets Agua Therm or the villa manager supervise the system remotely, receive fault alerts and make sure all 12 units are switched off after every checkout (guaranteed savings between stays). No extra works needed: the SIM is billed separately and connectivity is independent of the household router.
Quantifiable benefits of adding Airzone to the Daikin VRV
Why Airzone is a technical fit for this 64 kW VRV
The 12 Daikin VRV indoor units installed in this villa expose the P1/P2 bus from the factory — exactly the port the Aidoo Pro VRV connects into. A 64 kW installation sits comfortably within the envelope supported by Aidoo Pro (one adapter per indoor unit, up to 64 ports per VRV system). The heat-recovery BS-box work already delivered is unaffected — Airzone connects downstream, at indoor-unit level, without touching the refrigerant network or the outdoor DIII-Net wiring. And the Wi-Fi network covering the villa provides, with no extra work, the cloud connectivity Airzone Cloud needs (with the 4G variant as a fallback when the router is not owner-managed).
Want your Daikin VRV in a single app?
We provide no-obligation technical surveys for Aidoo Pro Daikin VRV, Airzone Cloud and KNX/Modbus/BACnet integration on villas in Marbella, San Pedro, Estepona and across the Costa del Sol.
Request an Airzone quoteSources: Airzone (airzonecontrol.com) · European Building Automation and Control Association — eu.bac · Universidad de Córdoba · KNX Association. Savings figures published by the manufacturer; actual performance depends on the home, occupancy patterns and setpoints.
Client Feedback
"We were spending over €300 a month on gas alone in winter, plus electricity for the old AC units that kept breaking down. After the Daikin VRV installation, our combined heating and cooling costs dropped to around €80/month even in peak summer. The system is whisper-quiet, every room stays at exactly the right temperature, and I haven't had a single maintenance call in 18 months. Best of all, we're finally off gas completely. Agua Therm handled everything - from removing the old boiler to the final commissioning."
Villa Owner
Marbella
Verified Efficiency Data
Daikin VRV performance claims are backed by manufacturer specifications and industry testing:
COP 4.5 in heating mode
64kW of heating output from just 14kW electrical input
SEER 7.1 in cooling mode
Industry-leading seasonal efficiency ratio for air conditioning
Heat recovery adds 30% efficiency
Simultaneous heating and cooling zones share thermal energy
Blue Fin extends lifespan 3x in coastal areas
Hydrophilic coating prevents salt air corrosion damage
75% reduction vs gas boiler + AC
Combined heating and cooling costs compared to previous setup
VRV (Variable Refrigerant Volume) systems are classified as high-efficiency heat pump technology by the European Commission. Blue Fin technology is certified for coastal marine environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Also see
About the Author
Ben Hayden
English-Speaking Electrician & Independent Energy Advisor
Ben Hayden is an English speaking electrician and independent energy advisor based in Marbella, Spain, with over 15 years of electrical experience across Europe. He provides independent energy and electrical checks for overseas property owners and managers across the Costa del Sol — helping clients cut electricity bills, navigate Spanish regulations, and make confident decisions on solar PV, heat pump, EV charger and battery storage projects.
Ben advises in plain English on projects where the paperwork is in Spanish and the stakes are high. His writing has appeared in ExpatArrivals, The Olive Press, Euro Weekly News, BuildingTalk and pv magazine.