Cost to install a heatpump?

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#630254 25-May-2012 11:21

You're better off getting a quote for supply and install from one place, it's much easier in terms of warranty. Installation requires electrical work, building work, and gas type work, so it's probably cheaper to get a firm to do it than hire a bunch of people.

You'll want them to make sure you get the right size too, and locate it properly. I got a heat pump a few years ago through a good firm, but it turns out it's not big enough - on cold nights it barely stopped running, and heat pumps that are working hard use more power than larger units that are working moderately. I put in a bigger one and moved that one to my kitchen, the new one seems much better.

If you're trying to heat a whole house with a single heat pump then 11kw will be about right, maybe a little small. You might actually need to 6-8kw heat pumps to cover the whole area, or you might look into a ducted system like the Fujitsu sleep pump, which is what I should've done.

I just had a heat pump for an area that I guess is around 60 square meters put in, a moderate sized lounge, wide hallway, and three decent sized bedrooms (that doesn't count the separate kitchen/dining area) I got the largest Fujitsu Nocria unit, 8kw minimum, 11kw peak. It works well, though it's a little loud, the indoor unit has a fan that could just move air around a huge area. On ultra quiet it's still not super quiet, but it's not awful either. My older Daikin is a bit quieter, I think, but pretty similar. Overall I guess I recommend the Nocria, plus Consumer rates them very highly. I paid $3400 which includes some kind of government subsidy, I think it was around $4000 without.

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#630272 25-May-2012 11:53

We just had a Fujitsu Premier Plus installed, 6KW model, installed price was $2600, took about 2 hours to be done. We are in Auckland also.

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#630275 25-May-2012 12:00

This is what worries me with Heat Pumps: How long will they last?

Check out this article for some idea:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10808227

5 years is a ridiculously short time for something so expensive. Give me an old-fashioned wood fire any day. A bit of petrol and a few hours hacking with my chainsaw and we have all the firewood for the winter. Not that we have used any yet, as it hasn't been cold enough. Give it a few more weeks though and then I expect we will.

mxpress

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#630278 25-May-2012 12:03

timmmay:
TinyTim: Has anyone put their outside unit in the attic, out of the way and where the air is often warmer?

You can't do that. Heat pumps just move heat around. The room would cool down to below zero and it'd become ineffective. It's also vibrate like anything.

Don't attach a head pump to the side of a house. A friend did it and it made a heck of a racket.

+1

Totally agree with that

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#630280 25-May-2012 12:07

A heat pump isn't exactly an appliance, and consumer guarantees act gives some protection. My Daikin has a 5 year warranty, so I think most people would reasonably expect it to last ten years or more. I think the Fujitsu has a 6 year warranty.

In Wellington we've been using the heat pump for a month at least!

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#630283 25-May-2012 12:14

Don't attach a head pump to the side of a house. A friend did it and it made a heck of a racket.

+1

Totally agree with that

It's like people who put water pumps in their basement and then the noise is transmitted through the wooden framing around the entire house. Best place for both devices is outside on a concrete pad with no connection to the foundations of the house. In the case of a water pump, you need weather-proofing obviously, but heat pumps are made to withstand the weather -- sort of. It is also the reason why they eventually rust out.

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#630290 25-May-2012 12:29

grant_k: This is what worries me with Heat Pumps: How long will they last?

Check out this article for some idea:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10808227

5 years is a ridiculously short time for something so expensive. Give me an old-fashioned wood fire any day. A bit of petrol and a few hours hacking with my chainsaw and we have all the firewood for the winter. Not that we have used any yet, as it hasn't been cold enough. Give it a few more weeks though and then I expect we will.

Depends on what you buy.. note the mentioned

especially when you hire charlatans who flog a brand no one's ever heard of and

Think how long the ones that live in your office last and they are often on 24/7. I would be very disappointed if you did not get 10 years + from a heatpump. Might need some minor repairs but should go for many many years.

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Niel

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#630534 25-May-2012 20:46

Last year I got a quote from Creative Climate in Mt Wellington. I'm happy with the guy, but have not yet proceeded as I'm still waiting for my builder to get code compliance done and the I can get a mortgage top-up. Anyway, and an electronic engineer and this guy seemed good and his price was not bad at all. Apparently Fujitsu is the best for reliability, claims he has never had an issue with any of them, Panasonic looks smart buy not as reliable, Hitachi used to be the best but now more on the industrial units. Mitsubishi is okay. There are now good specials since Christchurch is not ready for a rebuild and aircon manufacturers can't wait longer to make sales.

We had a 1970's house about 70 to 80 sqm, single level on piles and wet soil, only (very old) insulation in the ceiling. I've sealed up most of the window gaps and stuck Mylar film over all the windows (poor man's double glazing, made a big difference, also blocked UV). I got a cheap 3kW window mount aircon which kept the whole house at 18 degrees or more, except around October when humidity and cold nights meant the unit would freeze up and do a defrost cycle (runs in cooling mode but no fan/pump) and the house would quickly drop to 12 degrees. Those nights I would just run electric heaters. My point is, 3kW managed to heat the house sufficiently so you do not need much. However you first need to do the basics like closing off gaps and getting rid of moisture, else you will need 10kW (e.g.).

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#630547 25-May-2012 21:46

Niel, get plastic put over the ground, properly sealed and taped to piles. It'll be cheap, it'll make the house drier, warmer, smell better, and much easier to heat. Underfloor insulation helps a little.

My house is pretty old, so old no-one really knows how old it is, probably thirties. I've insulated the walls, the floor, and the roof has masses of insulation. I guess the living area's 75 square meters. I do find the new largest Nocria (8-11kw) does a much better job than the old Daikin (6-8kw). I doubt 3kw would do much, that's just a fan heater really.

I did use a fan heater in my kitchen a few times, it took a half hour to do anything. Once the 6-8kw heat pump was put in 10 minutes of that heats it quite nicely. The big fan seems to make a big difference.

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#630558 25-May-2012 22:37

timmmay: Niel, get plastic put over the ground, properly sealed and taped to piles. It'll be cheap, it'll make the house drier, warmer, smell better, and much easier to heat. Underfloor insulation helps a little.

Fully agree, but the house was removed and in it's place is a 200 sqm brand new rib raft polystyrene filled concrete slab foundation home with double glazing and full insulation.

Agree the 3kW was not great but my point is it was sufficient for 4 rooms (2 bedroom home) and you do not have to go 10kW+ which has a higher minimum power setting and makes more noise (higher minimum air flow from fan) and you try to get all the heating from one room to spread through the house (or living space). Better to get a couple of smaller units.

Guy at work went much further, his outside walls are double thickness with double layer of insulation, triple glazing windows, and a number of other things. In Winter he has to cool his house!

You can never have enough Volvos!

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#630568 25-May-2012 23:15

Niel:
timmmay: Niel, get plastic put over the ground, properly sealed and taped to piles. It'll be cheap, it'll make the house drier, warmer, smell better, and much easier to heat. Underfloor insulation helps a little.

Fully agree, but the house was removed and in it's place is a 200 sqm brand new rib raft polystyrene filled concrete slab foundation home with double glazing and full insulation.

Agree the 3kW was not great but my point is it was sufficient for 4 rooms (2 bedroom home) and you do not have to go 10kW+ which has a higher minimum power setting and makes more noise (higher minimum air flow from fan) and you try to get all the heating from one room to spread through the house (or living space).? Better to get a couple of smaller units.

Guy at work went much further, his outside walls are double thickness with double layer of insulation, triple glazing windows, and a number of other things.? In Winter he has to cool his house!

Not a fan of rib raft systems myself, as they look like there are lots of thermal breaks for heat loss. In my opinion it is better to use whole polystyrene sheets, with a topping layer of concrete, and have side insulation in the slab to isolate it. Otherwise I think you get too much heat loss through the sides of the slab. But I guess it is still better than no insulation under the slab.

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#630614 26-May-2012 08:52

Probably my very skewed view of the world but everytime there is a subsidy prices will inflate faster than a rocket taking off where businesses look to make money ten times faster ... Why don't you look at other installers to try to prove me wrong...

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#630617 26-May-2012 08:53

Apologies something very wrong with my samsung galaxy s2 not responding

[Mod Nety: Deleted the extra posts ;)]

Niel

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#630656 26-May-2012 11:34

joker97: Probably my very skewed view of the world but everytime there is a subsidy prices will inflate faster than a rocket taking off where businesses look to make money ten times faster ... Why don't you look at other installers to try to prove me wrong...

The number 1 reason why we did not take up the offer of subsidised insulation in the old house. If it was a rental we could still offset it against income tax, but as a home owner it was not worth it. You had to use the "approved" (i.e. partnered) installers and I could get the work done cheaper than the subsidised price. But in the end we built new instead of renovate/extend, and sold the old house for $50 (there must be money transferred to make it legal) and removal cost to the new owner.

You can never have enough Volvos!

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#630775 26-May-2012 17:08

joker97: Probably my very skewed view of the world but everytime there is a subsidy prices will inflate faster than a rocket taking off where businesses look to make money ten times faster ... Why don't you look at other installers to try to prove me wrong...

+1 Whenever you hear of people quoting the subsidised price for insulation work it seems to still be close or even more then you can get non subsidised with other installers. I do wonder what controls are in place to stop them just upping the cost. If there is it does not seem to be affective.

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