Heat Pump Brands Recommendation

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SnoopyDo

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#3507041 29-Jun-2026 15:54

i have an older Mitsubishi AP50 with wifi builtin (mac568). horizontal vanes are controllable left, center, right, split and swing via app and remote. in the app, i have the option to turn echonet on, but never had a play with it.

https://www.mitsubishi-electric.co.nz/wifi/learn_echonet.aspx

timmmay

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#3507144 29-Jun-2026 22:29

SnoopyDo:

i have an older Mitsubishi AP50 with wifi builtin (mac568). horizontal vanes are controllable left, center, right, split and swing via app and remote. in the app, i have the option to turn echonet on, but never had a play with it.

https://www.mitsubishi-electric.co.nz/wifi/learn_echonet.aspx

Great, thanks 🙂 Does it seem to throw the air reasonably effectively in the direction chosen? The Daikin is pretty good, it sends the air generally more in the direction we choose, but with it's little air direction fins it's not super effective.

I've emailed Mitsubishi to ask if Echonet is built into the smart model. I think it is but local control with home assistant is key for me so best check it since it's not in the specs.

eonsim

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#3507147 29-Jun-2026 22:54

Have experience with Mitsubishi, Panasonic and Fujitsu.

Mitsubishi - great reasonably quiet

Fujitsu - older unit but works well

Panasonic - newest the three, very noisy and inaccurate won't buy again

SnoopyDo

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#3507157 30-Jun-2026 07:45

timmmay:

SnoopyDo:

i have an older Mitsubishi AP50 with wifi builtin (mac568). horizontal vanes are controllable left, center, right, split and swing via app and remote. in the app, i have the option to turn echonet on, but never had a play with it.

https://www.mitsubishi-electric.co.nz/wifi/learn_echonet.aspx

Great, thanks 🙂 Does it seem to throw the air reasonably effectively in the direction chosen? The Daikin is pretty good, it sends the air generally more in the direction we choose, but with it's little air direction fins it's not super effective.

I've emailed Mitsubishi to ask if Echonet is built into the smart model. I think it is but local control with home assistant is key for me so best check it since it's not in the specs.

sorry, i cant say how effective the vanes are, this heatpump is installed in a smalish landing, definitely notice the air sweep over you if the vanes are set for sweep, but couldnt say how far the reach would be

insane

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#3507166 30-Jun-2026 08:34

Maybe I've been lucky, but have had 5 heat pump systems, 4 Panasonic and one Mitsubishi. I've spoken on here before about the quietness of equal sized Mitsubishi vs Panasonic, but from a reliability point of view, have never had any issues with any of them over more than 10 years.

We run a couple of them 24*7, and most the high wall units are on 24*7 now too. The only time one of the units needed replacing was when our landscapers hit both units with a bobcat... One survived and is still going strong with just the plinth and legs being replaced.

So perhaps any misgivings I have about Panasonic's temperature control should be forgiven.

Eva888

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#3507193 30-Jun-2026 09:55

Lostja:

Have purchased 3 Fujitsu's for 2 houses and 2 have needed warranty repairs. Never again will I buy a Fujitsu again

We made the same mistake with Fujitsu. Just when we need it to run hot it slows down to gentle puffs of tepid air while we sit and freeze. Our old Toshiba was much better even though this new one is 3kw bigger.

Turned on the Panasonic underfloor one and the outside unit is dead so am in the same boat as OP except I need a technician in Wellington. Why do they always die in winter.

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Yoban

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#3507217 30-Jun-2026 10:53

SnoopyDo:

i have an older Mitsubishi AP50 with wifi builtin (mac568). horizontal vanes are controllable left, center, right, split and swing via app and remote. in the app, i have the option to turn echonet on, but never had a play with it.

https://www.mitsubishi-electric.co.nz/wifi/learn_echonet.aspx

My neighbour runs the same model AP50 and has it hooked up to home Assistant. He said the wifi model that came from factory was MAC-588IF-E and he used the plugin GitHub - scottyphillips/echonetlite_homeassistant: A Home Assistant custom component for use with ECHONET enabled devices. · GitHub from the list echonet-lite · GitHub Topics · GitHub

timmmay

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#3507240 30-Jun-2026 11:58

Thanks @Yoban, that's very helpful!

I emailed Mitsubishi Electric / local distributor BDT. I got a very prompt and informative reply. I have edited it slightly for brevity below.

I think either heat pump would be fine. The Daikin HA integration is poor, temperature and fan speed changes often don't apply because of how poor the WiFi control is - I hit the button in HA to change the temp or fan speed, about half the time it works. I expect their app has some kind of retry mechanism. I've just had AI enhance the Daikin integration to do more retries and checking so try to make it more reliable. But that's not a huge deal. Given the 18 year life of the first one it's pretty well proven.

The installer, an experienced HVAC company rather than the electrician I used for my office heat pump, says they find both reliable but in general Mitsi is more reliable for high wall, Daikin is more reliable for floor, and Fujitsu for ducted.

The Daikin is more efficient heating on paper - COP of 4.3 compared with Mitsubishi 3.8. That may not play out in the real world, but is a slight advantage.

-- BDT Reply ---

I can confirm that Mitsubishi MSZ-AP50VGKD2 is compatible with the Echonet. This unit has an inbuilt MAC-578IF2 Wi-Fi interface, which is compatible with this software.

All of our units with built-in Wi-Fi are compatible with this software. As well as all units with the additional MAC-588 interface installed, which is an optional add-on that is compatible with all of our current range & many older units.

tweake

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#3507295 30-Jun-2026 12:36

insane:

So perhaps any misgivings I have about Panasonic's temperature control should be forgiven.

temp control is also related to sizing of the units. two of mine overshoot but they are oversized for the room. when its really cold outside (at or below design temp) they hit the numbers perfectly. mind you it doesn't help when i looked in the Panasonic install manual and found that its made for 2.7m walls not 2.4 walls. tho i really need to install a remote controller to test if its a temp sensing issue or a sizing issue.

tweake

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#3507298 30-Jun-2026 12:49

Eva888:

We made the same mistake with Fujitsu. Just when we need it to run hot it slows down to gentle puffs of tepid air while we sit and freeze.

check the outside coils and see if there is any ice especially on the bottom.

while it varies a lot between brands etc, they often slow down because its reached room temp or thinks it has.

but, there is a big human factor here. kiwis tend to operate heat pumps poorly and only fire them up when its really cold to heat the house, which can cause a situation where the air is up to temp but the house is cold. it takes a long time to heat the actual house (eg mine will heat air in 30 minutes but takes 4 hours to heat the mass of the house). but the house is what heats the person. without that the person feels cold, even tho the air is up to temp and the heat pump has turned off. this is more common with oversized heat pumps.

btw worth keeping in mind that new heat pumps are all R32 gas which can operate a bit different from the older R410a gas or even older gas models. so you will probably notice a difference if you replace older models.

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