Heat pumps...

[XTC]

We are considering a heat pump for our house in Waiuku. Any one know of a reputable retailer/installer in south auckland?? Do they do finance?? any replies appreciated. Andy.

[Aitch]

In Papakura, or Brewsters in Puke. But don't get too excited about Brewsters, I asked them on wednesday to get the guy who does the quotes to ring me, and as at 9.58 pm on sunday I'M STILL waiting! Useless prick.

[gav]

We bought ours through Smiths City, good service and good price, but dunno if they have stores in Auckland?

[Bytor]

It's frekkin freezing and the kids are suffering - anyone recommend a heat pump company in East Auckland?

[Blackbird]

Can't help with Auckland but price-wise for comparison, we're having a Fujitsu 6.25 kW (heating cycle) pump installed at our Coromandel place this week by a local installer. Price will be ~$3500 for the complete installation.

[one-speed]

well i work for plumbing world and we sell mitsubishi heat pumps.
need to know what size (but for a wall mounted 6.8kw around $2450+ gst.
and also the TCL range very common in aussie, once again need size
just give ya closest p/world a ring and they should help ya out.

[Bass]

Varcoe Refrigeration in Papakura, or Brewsters in Puke. But don't get too excited about Brewsters, I asked them on wednesday to get the guy who does the quotes to ring me, and as at 9.58 pm on sunday I'M STILL waiting! Useless prick.

Spent a lot of the boss's money with Varcoes over the years.
Would do so again

[Crisis management]

Ace air conditioning in Auckland.
Don't know how far south they cover but they are bloody good, prompt, reliable and when we had a warranty problem went a lot further than most for us.
My experience is, it's not something you buy from Smiths city as it is a specialist field and unless installed by experts is not going to give you what you want.
Couple of points:
They don't operate at freezing temp.....how heavy are the frosts? (check this as I'm not 100% on this minor point)
There are two parts...one outside and one inside, can you locate them somewhere where you can live with looking at machinery.
Insulate your house

Spend enough money to get something that works, you will not be a happy camper otherwise, they are expensive. We spent $8000 to heat 200 sq metres.

[Dilligaf]

I would recommend checking what suits your house best. Heat pumps are more for moderating the temperature of a house as opposed to a heater as we know it Jim... Get someone to come and see what sized area you are heating and which heater will do its job best.
As Crisis management said, if you have an older house with no insulation then a heat pump will disappoint you.
Consumer Magazine's top picks were for Panasonic and Daikin.
We have a nice Panasonic recently installed for $3000 - although the outside unit is huge - we have a wall mount which means it is not taking up wall space (for couches etc).
But we have a nice warm insulated house.
Debate rages as to whether to leave them on 24/7 or just when you need that extra heat.
For Hamilton I would recommend Eastside Refrigeration - not sure if they do outside Hamilton though...

[Kflasher]

We are considering a heat pump for our house in Waiuku. Any one know of a reputable retailer/installer in south auckland?? Do they do finance?? any replies appreciated. Andy.

Hey I just installed a heat transfer unit.
It highlighted the leaks I had around the home.
Once the leaks were taken care of it is sweet the amount of heat (or lack of) it takes to heat my home, it is worth the money.

[vifferman]

Ace air conditioning in Auckland.
They don't operate at freezing temp.....how heavy are the frosts? (check this as I'm not 100% on this minor point)
Ours (both Mitsubishi Heavy Industries) operate down to about 2 degrees outside air temperature, which is OK on the North Shore as it rarely gets down below about 5 or 6 degrees in Winter. (The colder it gets outside, the harder it is for the units to extract heat from the air).

Creative Climate did our aircon, and they were brilliant! However, of the other 5 comapnies I contacted, only one replied promptly (and another didn't get back to us till weeks AFTER the units were installed!) and a couple didn't get back to us at all. One of the guys dipped out because although he came around straight away, he didn't quote what was asked for (so his quote was next to useless).

Creative Climate didn't have a 'barrow to push' with regards to brand, but matched us up with what was best for our needs. Also, their installer and electrician did a very good job.

Overall, I'm very happy, and the only regret I had was not going for a bigger unit for our lounge - it was only $150 more for a model with (I think) twice the capacity of the one we got.

Oh - and they don't work when there's no electrickery.
Strange, that... :confused:

[Jantar]

We have a mitsibushi 6.3 kW unit, and its absolutely great. In the Auckland or Coromandel areas it would be all the heating you you need, however in the Waikato (or South island) you would need some alternative heating for winter.

Ours works best at temperatures above freezing, but then starts to lose efficiency as the temperature falls. At -5 its no better than a normal 2 kW fan heater, and at -10 it only blows cold air. However in the spring and autumn where you are only looking for a heat boost for a couple of hours each morning and evening, it is perfect.

[Bytor]

Cheers guys, I'll give Creative Climate and Ace a phone for some advice. Our house is only 3 years old with decent insulation and a DVS system but no form of heating. During the day it's fine, but early morning and at night the temperature drops making life uncomfortable for the 3 kids (4, 2 and 2 weeks!). We have portable oil rads but they only work in the enclosed bedrooms, leaving the open plan downstairs (lounge, dining room, kitchen & playroom) somewhat chilly!

[Blackbird]

We have a mitsibushi 6.3 kW unit, and its absolutely great. In the Auckland or Coromandel areas it would be all the heating you you need, however in the Waikato (or South island) you would need some alternative heating for winter.

Ours works best at temperatures above freezing, but then starts to lose efficiency as the temperature falls. At -5 its no better than a normal 2 kW fan heater, and at -10 it only blows cold air. However in the spring and autumn where you are only looking for a heat boost for a couple of hours each morning and evening, it is perfect.

Jennie and I have been watching your winter temperatures closely Malcolm and conclude that we would hibernate rather than step outside. That photo you sent of you on your 1200 coming down your drive is a classic.

[vifferman]

Cheers guys, I'll give Creative Climate and Ace a phone for some advice. Our house is only 3 years old with decent insulation and a DVS system but no form of heating. During the day it's fine, but early morning and at night the temperature drops making life uncomfortable for the 3 kids (4, 2 and 2 weeks!). We have portable oil rads but they only work in the enclosed bedrooms, leaving the open plan downstairs (lounge, dining room, kitchen & playroom) somewhat chilly!
Our house is 23 years old, and has crappy insulation.
What we do is leave the A/C on overnight, but switch it down as low as it will go (18C), then crank it up when we get home. On the colder nights, we also use the panel heater in the hall on the bedroom level, as there's no A/C there - just in the basement and top storey.

In a year or so, we'll review things, and may put another unit in somewhere else; the original plan was for 3 or 5 units, but we decided to go for two, and see how it went. So far, so good.
As long as it's not damp on the bedroom level, it doesn't matter too much if it's not really warm, as you actually sleep better if it's a bit cooler. Must be the hibernation gene or summat.

[vifferman]

Jennie and I have been watching your winter temperatures closely Malcolm and conclude that we would hibernate rather than step outside. That photo you sent of you on your 1200 coming down your drive is a classic.
Thanx for sharing it!

Tease... :Pokey:

[Blackbird]

Thanx for sharing it!

Tease... :Pokey:

Well, well..... I've found Jantar's famous south island "out for a brisk ride" photo. I'm sure he won't mind the post! They breed them tough down there, it was probably only minus 17.:shit:

[Jantar]

Not quite that cold Blackbird. Conditions when that photo was taken were similar to what we are getting at the moment, but this year it is just a bit harsher. From memory, last year we were getting - 8 overnight and warming to around -4 or better during the day.

At present we are getting down to - 10 overnight, and I've just come inside from washing the bike. The only trouble is that I have to carry water to the bike as I can't get any water to flow outside at all. We haven't seen a temperature above 0 for a couple of weeks now, and today is the first day I've been home where it has been warm enough to give the bike its well needed clean. Its a balmy -1 outside at the moment.

[westie]

Wow you guys are keen to pay heaps for your electricity bills.
Insulating your house would be more important. Otherwise you will be fighting a loosing battle trying to heat your house. You need thermal resistance!

There is a great product on the market that will insulate your walls in one or two days work. They drill small holes in your walls and install "airfoam" into the cavities. It gets into every nook and cranny. Holes filled and undercoated.
Average 3 bdrm house $3000-$4000.
This product will give you great insulation and is done without turfing the family out of the house. Its all done from the outside.

Give me a call if you want to be warmer!:sunny::sunny::sunny::sunny:

0212063119

[vifferman]

Yeah, if we'd stayed in Chch I would've had that done - the south wall of the house got very cold. Electricity bills? Pah!
Our bills have been very reasonable since the aircon went in, MUCH less than the same time last year. Of course, since the prices have gone up now, it may just be that the electricity company has been under-reading the meter so they can make a big killing.

[Crisis management]

Wow you guys are keen to pay heaps for your electricity bills.
Insulating your house would be more important. Otherwise you will be fighting a loosing battle trying to heat your house. You need thermal resistance!

There is a great product on the market that will insulate your walls in one or two days work. They drill small holes in your walls and install "airfoam" into the cavities. It gets into every nook and cranny. Holes filled and undercoated.
Average 3 bdrm house $3000-$4000.
This product will give you great insulation and is done without turfing the family out of the house. Its all done from the outside.

Give me a call if you want to be warmer!:sunny::sunny::sunny::sunny:

0212063119

A similar product was around years ago but as it ate the PVC insulation on electrical wiring was somewhat unpopular....mind you the ensuing fire seemed to take the chill off the home temporarily!

Is this product free of that problem? I ask as it was a good idea and there are plenty of instances where it could be used today.

[rogson]

Even more important (and cheaper) than insulating your house is fixing the drafts!

[westie]

A similar product was around years ago but as it ate the PVC insulation on electrical wiring was somewhat unpopular....mind you the ensuing fire seemed to take the chill off the home temporarily!

Is this product free of that problem? I ask as it was a good idea and there are plenty of instances where it could be used today.

NO it does not create a fire hazard!
I tried burning it on a slow day and it would not catch fire or even smoulder!
Not reactive with electrical cables either. I have heard of that product but am unsure of what it was. I have been fielding questions about that for a while. Its a pitty bout products that give others a bad name(hard time).

This product and application was invented in New Zealand by Burt Munroes son about 30 years ago. His legend lives on. It has been used in many countries around the world for years.

The english government actually pay for people to have it installed. Thats the nicest thing I've heard a government doing!

[westie]

Even more important (and cheaper) than insulating your house is fixing the drafts!

"Drafts" are created by the warm air touching cold surfaces(uninsulated walls or roof) and causing the air to fall creating moisture and then cold air running across the floor, in your words drafts. Although some houses actually have gaps in the house where wind can get in.
The beauty is that this foam will find the cracks inside the walls and fill them up, also stopping the "drafts" inside the house.

Just a precursor to another ineveitable question. The foam is "pre expanded", ie does not expand further once made. Then it is installed into the walls. Unlike the yellow expanding foam the builders use. Also non toxic

[Fooman]

NO it does not create a fire hazard!
I tried burning it on a slow day and it would not catch fire or even smoulder!

The concern with it may not be a reaction with the insulation, but in effect insulating the wires too much - i.e. the wires heat up (due to their inherent electrical resistance and the current they are carrying) and are unable to dissipate the heat due to being surrounded in insulation, causing the electrical insulation on the wire to melt, resulting in the danger of a short circuit/sparking.

For example, in a ceiling, electrical wires are supposed to be either above insulation or or inside a conduit with sufficient air gap to ensure they don't overheat. Similarly, recessed lights and flues are supposed to have a 150 mm air gap surrounding them to prevent overheating.

Cheers,
FM

[westie]

I dont think that is the case. Although I cant speak for any other types of insulation. Many homes are insulated(whatever the material) and the cables in the walls must go through, around and under the insulating materials, thus insulating the wires. Yes electricity builds up heat as it goes through the wires, but I would have thought that the cable would be of sufficient performance to cope easily with these house hold loads?

[Sollyboy]

Mitre 10 mega has self install Delonghi heat pumps , they are on R410 gas so will be future proofed as R22 is only available for 3 more years , they just need you to put a very small hole in your wall to install, they have a fitting similar to some truck air line fittings, for Waiuku you need about 1 Kw for every 10 sq meters , thats just roughly but should be close enough, if you dont get an inverter get the smaller of the 2 options available with a fixed speed as short cycling shortens the life of the compressor, and if used for cooling in summer the AC will release moisture back into the environ during off cycles, by going smaller I dont mean skimping and getting the smallest thing you can find just the smallest thing to do the job.
Double check that your not getting older stock that uses R22.
I like mitsubishi personally, theres 2 kinds melco and heavy industries the melco stuff is a bit better.

[Ruralman]

I'm getting someone in shortly to price up and advise on a heat pump too - one of the biggest things that I have found out from talking to numerous owners is the minimum temp you can set them to INSIDE. I will be putting mine up a hallway and really only want low level background heat.
Most of the heatpumps can only set their thermostats down to 18 degrees C - many owners reckon that is much too high. The Daikin units can be set down as low as 12-13 degrees which is much better, especially if the heatpump is in say the sleeping areas and you have a log burner or similar in the living area.

the Daikin can also cope better with lower outside temps (to about minus 15 on some units) - we don't get those extremes like in Central Otago but we do get minus 5-10 degree temps

[Sollyboy]

the Daikin can also cope better with lower outside temps (to about minus 15 on some units) - we don't get those extremes like in Central Otago but we do get minus 5-10 degree temps

Youll find most of the newer R410 based units will work to those lower temps ok,R410 gas was developed in japan allowing a smaller unit foot print and
greater efficiency at lower temps because of the higher evaporating preasure.
Mitsubishi inverters have a great boost function allowing 130% heat capacity for 2 hours, Ive had nothing but trouble trying to get parts,technical advice and backup for Daiken ,they have a logistics company distributing their stuff so you have fragile compressors stacked upside down on a shelf next to peanuts and tins of corned beef

[trex_rider]

Hi Guys

Im a refrigy (air con engineer) and work for Climatech, and we install all over Auckland and sometimes outer auckland, if you guys are looking for a fair price and good services call Gwyn on 09 634 9624 tell him the boy with the Aprilia referred you. :Punk:

[Nefarious]

I'd recommend Climatech.