Best heat pump brands?

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#1495070 18-Feb-2016 16:14

540trickzter:

I've always had preference to Daikin. We've got a Daikin high wall in our current home.

We are in the process of building a new home and are getting a Daikin Ducted system. Going to cost around $16k.

Out of interest, which model Daikin ducted system are you having installed? (We had ours put in last year, and it had its "issues"; if it's the same or similar model, I can warn you of these!)

Stan

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#1495691 19-Feb-2016 14:51

Kickinbac:

6FIEND:

Although this is heresay, two of my friends work in the industry. (Mostly commercial, but occasionally residential)

Both of them have an intense dislike for Fujitsu units - spending significant time repairing or replacing them.

Both of them recommend Toshiba, and have gone so far as to state (and demonstrate)that they will install nothing else in their own homes.

Personally, I have no experience with heatpumps - so I'm only relating 2nd hand info. However, I swear that this is the last Auckland summer that I will suffer through without one! ;-)

I didn't want to say that as don't like rubbishing brands as they all have their problems/malfunctions. I am in the industry and the company I work for installs lots of Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba heat pumps. Our guys hate installing and fixing Fujitsu's too (and Hitachi's)... We don't sell them but get people calling up to install units they have bought at Harvey Norman, Mitre 10 etc.

We also service and repair all types of heat pumps but get great technical support from Daikin, Mitsubishi Electric and Toshiba when we need it. They are all very reliable but the odd one has a problem, which is a dodgy circuit board or sensor, but happens with all brands.

I put a Daikin heat pump in at my parents house in 2000, 16 years later it's still going well, just a little corrosion on the feet of the outdoor unit and they are about 200 metres from the beach in Papamoa. In my own house I put in a Mitsubishi Electric which went well for the 6 years I had it before I sold the house.

My existing house has a fire but will be putting in heat pumps in the next couple of months and am going to put in the new Daikin Cora units. I've decided I'm putting a wall mounted heat pump in each bedroom and one in the lounge. The Daikin Coras are basically the same price as the Toshibas and both are cheaper than Mitsubishis. The Daikin Coras are very quiet and efficient and great value for money.

Just so you are aware both Mitre 10 and Harvey Norman do not have national agreements with Fujitsu. Temperzone (hitachi distributors) do have one with Mitre 10.

Mitsi's, Fujtisus, Daikins, Panas, Toshiba's are all good units simply put. The majority of issues come from poor installation work (not vacing down pipes correctly not pressure testing so leaks occur etc.) in some ways it is better to actually deal with a big box retailer as they are bound by CGA and can't just disappear leaving behind poor installation work. (there was a thread about this only a month or so ago with a gree unit.)

I must admit I have changed my opinion on Gree units used to not like them as we pulled a whole lot out of a rest home and replaced them with another brand, now I have looked at there newer units I would say they are good value for the money.

Just so you know most installers will knock a brand they can't compete with price on or can't get. I have worked with all the above brands (apart from Daikin) and I put a Fujitsu in my own house and I am very happy with it as I sized it correctly and helped with the installation.

If you want high COPs most of the new R32 units offer very good performance and high COP/EER .

540trickzter

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#1495713 19-Feb-2016 15:27

jonathan18:

540trickzter:

I've always had preference to Daikin. We've got a Daikin high wall in our current home.

We are in the process of building a new home and are getting a Daikin Ducted system. Going to cost around $16k.

Out of interest, which model Daikin ducted system are you having installed? (We had ours put in last year, and it had its "issues"; if it's the same or similar model, I can warn you of these!)

It's a Daikin FDYQ/RZQ160L (18kW).

9 Diffusers and 2 Return Grilles.

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#1495747 19-Feb-2016 15:48

540trickzter:

jonathan18:

540trickzter:

I've always had preference to Daikin. We've got a Daikin high wall in our current home.

We are in the process of building a new home and are getting a Daikin Ducted system. Going to cost around $16k.

Out of interest, which model Daikin ducted system are you having installed? (We had ours put in last year, and it had its "issues"; if it's the same or similar model, I can warn you of these!)

It's a Daikin FDYQ/RZQ160L (18kW).

9 Diffusers and 2 Return Grilles.

That's in the same series as ours, just a larger capacity. But, never fear, as the truly terrible component of the version we had installed has clearly been excised from the range - essentially, they had a variation of this range that was controlled by a touch screen (an Android tablet under a Daikin-branded cover!), as opposed to a physical standard controller. I see in the brochure this is not longer offered, which no doubt shows other people's experiences of this controller reflects our own. Trying to be too smart for their own good but it failed on so many levels, most significantly being wifi issues leading not being able to operate the heatpump (as there is no physical connection between the indoor unit and the controller) and an absence of a sensor in the controller.

The actual heatpump is great; it's just a matter of ensuring the installation is done properly (eg they put in the correct diffusers, such as downward firing ones for high ceilings - something they screwed up on ours).

gedc

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#1495816 19-Feb-2016 16:59

I held off posting my fujitsu woes as for every bad event, someone will say their unit is brilliant and I guess that's fair enough. We have 2 large fujitsu ducted units installed around 9 months ago - a 'luxury' addition to the house renovations. It took about 30 + visits from the install crew and fujitsu sending a bundle of different techs to get it kind of working properly. I won't go into details but after I'd used up most of my annual leave being here to show them the issues - and it was a new solution everytime the previous one didn't work - we eventually removed half of the house ducted systems as it simply didn't work and the upstairs unit spent it's time sounding like a diesel tractor running on petrol. During winter the outdoor unit spent more time in defrost than it did heating the two living areas. It replaced a daikin wall unit that was 12 years old and I could never remember it going into defrost once !! We then replaced the ducted system with a large fujitsu floor unit that shook the house down with the whole unit vibrating, which they replaced, which again shook the house down so they swapped out parts inside it. The installers were at a loss to the quality of some of the parts that were replaced with even more off balance barrel fans etc. Quality control seemed missing somewhere along the lines. Eventually that went back to fujistu as well and we spoke to a well know local heatpump firm who replaced it last week with a floor standing mitsubishi unit that is fantastic..It may just actually be normal but given the 8 months of grief it's just a relief to switch this on and have it work first time/every time.

Funnily enough the first thing the new installer asked about the fujitsu was winter performance. I explained the issues of defrosting and he said it was well known that due to the condensor size / outdoor unit configuration they struggle in winter in the colder climates of the south island in comparison to other makes. Might mean a lot or might not. I still have the other half of the ducted fujitsu system in the back of the house ( we had two units installed for front and back of house) and it does okay on cooling in summer. Just waiting for winter again to see how it copes. If I was recommending a unit I would immediately say daikin ( from previous experience ) or mistubishi electric. To cap it all, one of the original techs who installed the fujitsu kit is coming around to see the mitsi as his company only do fujitsu. I asked was he not installing a fujitsu and getting discount etc. His classic reply - " You've got to be joking. After seeing all the grief and issues you had I would never touch one for my house".

Again, every bad story has a good one to balance so good luck with whatever you choose.

540trickzter

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#1495971 19-Feb-2016 21:52

jonathan18:

540trickzter:

jonathan18:

540trickzter:

I've always had preference to Daikin. We've got a Daikin high wall in our current home.

We are in the process of building a new home and are getting a Daikin Ducted system. Going to cost around $16k.

Out of interest, which model Daikin ducted system are you having installed? (We had ours put in last year, and it had its "issues"; if it's the same or similar model, I can warn you of these!)

It's a Daikin FDYQ/RZQ160L (18kW).

9 Diffusers and 2 Return Grilles.

That's in the same series as ours, just a larger capacity. But, never fear, as the truly terrible component of the version we had installed has clearly been excised from the range - essentially, they had a variation of this range that was controlled by a touch screen (an Android tablet under a Daikin-branded cover!), as opposed to a physical standard controller. I see in the brochure this is not longer offered, which no doubt shows other people's experiences of this controller reflects our own. Trying to be too smart for their own good but it failed on so many levels, most significantly being wifi issues leading not being able to operate the heatpump (as there is no physical connection between the indoor unit and the controller) and an absence of a sensor in the controller.

The actual heatpump is great; it's just a matter of ensuring the installation is done properly (eg they put in the correct diffusers, such as downward firing ones for high ceilings - something they screwed up on ours).

Thanks for the info. Yeah, the heatpump company I went to see did have the touchscreen tablet controller setup in their showroom for the Daikin ducted system. And the salesman did say to me that the touchscreen controller is no longer offered. He didn't tell me why, but it looks you have just informed me on the reason. When they install our system, I'll ask questions about the correct diffusers. Cheers

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#1495996 19-Feb-2016 22:37

We have a Mitsubishi heavy industries unit (was in place when we bought), works well, very quiet out side, heats well inside. It stopped working about 2 years ago, finding some one to service it was averagely difficult but it was repaired free of charge (under warranty).

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#1496382 20-Feb-2016 19:01

Daiken multi unit with 4 single room running off it. 2 years old and very happy. Also brought the master wall unit but all that does is a pretty display to show whats on (capable of way more like full system automation but not turned out how we have used it lolz). Looked at going ducted but wanted better zone control (lounge, massive living/dining/kitchen, bedroom, study). 3 are 2.5kw and big one a 7 I think. Outside unit very very quiet (ie need to stand next to it to hear anything) and cycles low which matters for overall power consumption.

Had Panasonics in old house (3 of them) and no issues in 7 years use. Only went Daiken due to new home build company and overall cant see much between. I would look at what features you want and start there as well as overall unit efficiency.

jmh

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#1498686 24-Feb-2016 17:38

Thanks for the feedback. I was all set to get the Mitsubishi but the quote is $300 more than the Fujitsu (both quotes via an installer from Noel Leeming). Of all the companies I contacted, NL were the only one that responded quickly and actually came round, so in terms of service I'm probably better to stick with them. They guarantee the fitting for 12 months, Fujitsu is 6 year warranty and Mitsubishi is 5 years.

I have studied the brochures and the spec doesn't look all that different.

Since it's in the master bed and not a main room, I might go for the cheaper option.

richms

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#1498689 24-Feb-2016 17:44

I like my fujitsu's. Not all will keep the fan speed constant when you set it to low. A friend has one which will still ramp up and down, but go no faster than the low speed, which is super annoying.

Also the sound levels they quote do not include the dripping noise of water in them from the coils into the tray in them. Was told that panasonics can be quite loud for that.

Richard rich.ms

Kickinbac

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#1498707 24-Feb-2016 18:20

jmh:

Thanks for the feedback. I was all set to get the Mitsubishi but the quote is $300 more than the Fujitsu (both quotes via an installer from Noel Leeming). Of all the companies I contacted, NL were the only one that responded quickly and actually came round, so in terms of service I'm probably better to stick with them. They guarantee the fitting for 12 months, Fujitsu is 6 year warranty and Mitsubishi is 5 years.

I have studied the brochures and the spec doesn't look all that different.

Since it's in the master bed and not a main room, I might go for the cheaper option.

You can't buy Daikin from retail stores, you have to go to a dealer. But they should be competitive with a Fujitsu and quieter, which is important in a bedroom. Fujitsu give you an extra year for a reason ;-)

It's frustrating when people don't turn up or bother to call you back.

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Stan

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#1498981 25-Feb-2016 10:01

Actually cost price for Daikin will be more expensive than Fujitsu

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#1498991 25-Feb-2016 10:03

jmh:

Thanks for the feedback. I was all set to get the Mitsubishi but the quote is $300 more than the Fujitsu (both quotes via an installer from Noel Leeming). ...

From my personal experience with both brands, the Mitsubishi is well worth the extra $300.

(see my earlier post)

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#1499119 25-Feb-2016 13:14

Stan: Actually cost price for Daikin will be more expensive than Fujitsu

Probably somewhere between the Fujitsu and the Mitsubishi but depends on models compared. This is subjective but if you reference cars, a Fujitsu is kinda like a Daewoo and Daikins and Mitsi I would say are a Toyota.

jmh

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#1499123 25-Feb-2016 13:17

OK, got a Daiken guy coming round at 2pm - fast service!! I'll let you know.

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