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...

[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.