Heat Pump Thoughts

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cldlr76

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#175798 12-Jul-2015 11:08

Hi,

We are looking at installing a heat pump in our living area that's an open plan area consisting of 2 lounges a kitchen and dining room with high pitched ceilings. After researching consumer etc at this stage we are looking at a Mitsubishi system for a number of reasons including quietness, reliability and wifi control.

I'm interested in peoples thoughts if you have a Mitsubishi heat pump or other brands that you are particularly happy with and would install again.

Thanks

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#1341528 12-Jul-2015 11:22

That sounds like a really huge area, one heat pump may not cut it, and if it does it'll likely be the largest one available. If you try to heat too large an area a heat pump will run on less efficient settings - they're more efficient when they're not working at maximum capacity. Have you considered either a ducted whole house unit, a unit with multiple indoor units, or two units?

What's the floor area, and what's the volume? How many windows does it have, and are they double glazed? How good is the insulation.

Krishant007

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#1341530 12-Jul-2015 11:28

Hey there. I got a Fujitsu installed at my place a couple of years ago. I have an open plan living area with the kitchen and dining all in there. It is one of the Nocria ranges from Fujitsu. It actually is quite a nice quiet one. We got it installed away from the where we normally would place the sofa as everyone reckoned that people dont want the hot air being blasted at them. In fact, my sister actually prefers the hot air being blasted at her since its so cold these days. So do take that into consideration as well.

Regarding the heatpump itself, I did do my research back in the day when I got it installed. I remember that I did narrow it down to Fujitsu and Mitsubishi. We went with Fujitsu since the company installing it were giving a better deal. The heat pump itself is quite fat, literally. But since it sits high on the wall in the corner, it is not obtrusive at all and is hardly noticed in everyday life (in terms of its size). We got the model that has self cleaning filters (there is a button on the remote to activate this). Fujitsu give 6 year warranty if you get it installed by one of their specialist installers (Kiwi Electrical if i remember correctly? Owned by a couple, Rebecca Buckley is one of the owners). They were quite professional, came and gave quotes and got the jump done in a couple of hours, cleaned up and left - no hassle.

Besides that, we got a few other quotes from other installers and went with the one that gave the best deal and a decent product - planning to get another one installed in the bedroom, also looking at Fujitsu.

EDITED: Heat pump installer name.

timmmay

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#1341532 12-Jul-2015 11:30

My three year old Fujitsu Nocria is really quite loud compared with the Daikin I have - the fan in it feels like it could probably heat a stadium. If you turn them off automatic, turning the fan down, they're less efficient I'm told. The newer ones may be better. It is pretty efficient, and only rarely stops to deice itself - we've only noticed it once this winter on a really cold day.

Consider a floor mounted model, it makes more sense for heat to come from down low as heat rises.

Krishant007

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#1341535 12-Jul-2015 11:39

timmmay: My three year old Fujitsu Nocria is really quite loud compared with the Daikin I have - the fan in it feels like it could probably heat a stadium. If you turn them off automatic, turning the fan down, they're less efficient I'm told. The newer ones may be better. It is pretty efficient, and only rarely stops to deice itself - we've only noticed it once this winter on a really cold day.

Consider a floor mounted model, it makes more sense for heat to come from down low as heat rises.

Hm, floor mounted does make sense I guess - If you have lots of room, then this would be a better option for a bedroom I am sure. High stud ceiling dont help in this case.

I never have my heat pump on automatic - I always run it on low and put it on a timer to heat the lounge up before I arrive home (I program it for 5pm so by the time I am home at 5.30/6, its all nice and warm). But it did get loud on high - but running heat pumps on high is not recommended since it chews through power.

I would be keen to try out other brands as well in my bedroom. To OP: if your area to be heated is quite large, have you considered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries heat pump? A friend of mine got this installed a couple of years back. Apparently they have larger capacities for heating - more than their consumer range. I am not sure though, maybe others have heard of the differences between Mitsubishi heat pumps and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries?

timmmay

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#1341538 12-Jul-2015 12:24

Running heat pumps on low fan means it can't get the heat out as effectively, it's less efficient. Sure turn it down if it's bothering you, but "auto" should be your default setting. The fan power is probably almost negligible to power consumption - it's the fan in the indoor unit, whereas most power is likely used by the outdoor compressor.

Batman

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#1341540 12-Jul-2015 12:27

Mitsubishi is right up there. They make really good stuff that works well. But that is a huge area. If your house is not a fully insulated house your heat will not get everywhere. If it is done to today's spec you will need at least a 12 kw unit!

lucky015

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#1341595 12-Jul-2015 14:55

We have recently had 3 Mitsubishi units installed throughout our house, Very happy, Had narrowed it down to Fujitsu and Mitsubishi but everything i read and everyone I spoke to indicated Fujitsu where noticeable louder.

Only things that come to mind are that using a single unit in a large area (we use one in our lounge that also heats kitchen) does seem to take a bit of time for the heat to spread even though its pointing directly at the kitchen from the opposite side of the lounge and that I hadn't been able to find any info about them prior but my installer also made a note about himself using a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries unit at home as it was cheaper and higher output.

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Batman

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#1341597 12-Jul-2015 14:59

Age of house, floor area you want to heat, how warm do you want to heat it to, how cold is your town.

Sideface

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#1341599 12-Jul-2015 15:09

We have a Mitsubishi and a Fujitsu heat pump installed in our 1914-vintage villa in cold, windy Wellington.
Both are older "split" units units (installed by the previous owners).
The Mitsubishi is quiet, powerful, and efficient.
The Fujitsu is noisy and less efficient - we are going to replace it with another Mitsubishi.

Last year I stayed in a hotel during a heatwave (high 30's) - my room had its own Mitsubishi a/c unit which was completely silent under load - I was very impressed!

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cldlr76

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#1341625 12-Jul-2015 15:48

Thanks for the replies,

We have briefly looked at a ducted system but not in any detail, so it could be an option. Are they cost effective from a hardware/installation point of view compared to separate units? We also had limited it down to fujitsu and Mitsubishi but has mentioned currently leaning towards Mitsubishi but certainly open to other suggestions

We are in Auckland and the area mentioned above is a 2nd story about 65sqm with slopped ceilings with a max height of 2.9m. There is a reasonable amount of windows which are all single glazed with decent curtains. The walls are insulated with R2.6 pink batts. On the same 2nd story there are bathrooms and bedrooms totalling about another 100sqm that currently don't have insulation but will do and we will also be wanting to heat/cool that area in the future as well. There is also currently an HRV system installed as well.

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#1341657 12-Jul-2015 16:37

Costs the same as separate units. Separate units work better of course, but you have more compressors which may or may not annoy your eyes.

MikeB4

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#1341666 12-Jul-2015 16:44

We are currently looking at heating options, our home is a Lockwood with high chapel ceilings. Our current heating is glued gas radiant and Log burner. The later has become too difficult for me to manage due to disability, also the heat gathers at the apex of the roof pitch and can leave the rooms cool. I have looked at heatpumps and Mitsubishi seems to be a very good option, however we are not sure if they would create enough circulation to effectively heat the rooms.

Batman

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#1341680 12-Jul-2015 17:15

The best is one heat pump in every "room". But ... It's up to you ... Can be eye sore.

lissie

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#1341681 12-Jul-2015 17:18

MikeB4: We are currently looking at heating options, our home is a Lockwood with high chapel ceilings. Our current heating is glued gas radiant and Log burner. The later has become too difficult for me to manage due to disability, also the heat gathers at the apex of the roof pitch and can leave the rooms cool. I have looked at heatpumps and Mitsubishi seems to be a very good option, however we are not sure if they would create enough circulation to effectively heat the rooms.

With a cathedral ceiling you should have a ceiling fan if the heat source doesn't have one e.g. a log burner - fans have a winter setting which is designed to push hot air back down. Even our little desk fan makes a noticeable difference in our lounge with a high ceiling and a log burner.

HP create a nasty heats in my view- I don't like having hot air blown at me. We are considering getting rid of ours and either replacing it with an unflued gas heater. When we get bored with chopping wood I've heard good things about pellet burners

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Jase2985

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#1341682 12-Jul-2015 17:19

MikeB4, considered a ceiling fan to circulate the heat?

My parents have 2 daikin heat pumps in their house, one up stairs and one down. The downstairs if open plan and about 90sqm and the upstairs has 4 bedrooms and a study loft area and is about 100sqm. they are 6-7kw units and have no issues with them or the heat output. They have the heat pumps on 24/7. Their house is double glazed and has good insulation.

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