Cost to install a heatpump?

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NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#88446 16-Aug-2011 14:44

just had a quote for a heatpump and it came to $3200 (before applying the $500 gov subsidy) fully installed.

However, looking online I can find an identical model for $1500 (from a bricks and mortar retailer). which implies the cost of installation quoted to me is $1700.

It should be a pretty simple install - exterior wall, weatherboard house, timber frame, the usual. $1700 for installation sounds absolutely vast to me.
Any idea how much I should be paying? other research suggests around $800 for a 'normal' install.
So I feel like I should be paying $1500+$800-$500(subsidy) = $1800

Anybody got any real world costs to compare? (btw, I'm in auckland if that matters)

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#507336 16-Aug-2011 14:50

I have a brother who installs these for a job & he says the biggest issue with people buying heatpumps from bricks and mortar retailers is that 9/10 they are the wrong size for the room they are trying to heat etc. or Just crap in general.

Now you have a quote from a fridgie shop around other providers so the same model or eqivlant. you may find the $3000 quoted is reasonable for your situation.

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NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#507343 16-Aug-2011 14:55

boby55: I have a brother who installs these for a job & he says the biggest issue with people buying heatpumps from bricks and mortar retailers is that 9/10 they are the wrong size for the room they are trying to heat etc. or Just crap in general.

Now you have a quote from a fridgie shop around other providers so the same model or eqivlant. you may find the $3000 quoted is reasonable for your situation.

that shouldn't be an issue since the model is the same one recommended by the professional installer, unless they are in the habit of reccomending the wrong or crappy heatpumps. (which could well be the case I suppose)

btw, if anyone is interested the quote was from Healthy Homes Group http://www.dvs.co.nz/healthy-home-group

and the model reccomended by them was http://www.priceme.co.nz/Fujitsu-ASTG12LVCA/p-884429944.aspx
which is available for $1600 (not including installation)

btw: what is a 'fridgie'?

Dunnersfella

4063 posts

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#507344 16-Aug-2011 14:58

$750 for a back-to-back installation seems to be standard.
Most installers are electricians.
Whereas my understanding, from talking to A LOT of heat pump installers, the best people to do the installs are actually refrigeration engineers (fridgies). I know of a few people who've had good heatpumps go south due to incorrect installs.

vexxxboy

4087 posts

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#507346 16-Aug-2011 15:00

just had one installed and it cost me just under $5000 , the pump was just over $3000 so $1700 sounds about right and i had 3 quotes all about the same. if they do it properly that also pays for an electrician to wire the unit separately into your powerboard, and i had 2 people installing the unit and it took them the morning to do it.

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Dunnersfella

4063 posts

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#507355 16-Aug-2011 15:12

All morning?
3 hours for $1700?
That'd be 500+ per hour then?

Wow... I'm in the wrong job!

iistudio

79 posts

Master Geek

#507357 16-Aug-2011 15:12

vexxxboy: just had one installed and it cost me just under $5000 , the pump was just over $3000 so $1700 sounds about right and i had 3 quotes all about the same. if they do it properly that also pays for an electrician to wire the unit separately into your powerboard, and i had 2 people installing the unit and it took them the morning to do it.

I just had a heat pump installed, its a medium size heat pump in terms of output, installation cost $750
from a registered heat pump installer for fujitsu heat pumps.

the above $1700 installation case seems not like a back-to-back installation as my case there were 3 guys, 2 installer, 1 electrician to do the wiring etc, they spent about 3-4 hours on the job.

What I suggest is you shop around, and for me I didn't bother with the government subsidy.

cheers

keewee01

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#507372 16-Aug-2011 15:26

My brother installs heat pumps, he is a fridgie with an electrical ticket so can do it all himself. He usually charges under $800 for a standard installation. The question is, Is yours a standard installation, or is there something special about it that you don't know about?

Having to run some extra copper piping rapidly ramps up the price.

You could ask them for a breakdown of the price.

scuwp

3761 posts

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#507374 16-Aug-2011 15:27

Provided it is a simple"back to back" installation (pipes through the wall directly outside to where the pump is installed) then I would expect $700 ish for installation. Ours was a bit trickier in that it needed a condensation pump, but even then it was still only about $900. That was for 2 fridgies, a sparkie and the best part of 1/2 a day.

Look at the total cost (purchase + install + certification) as often retailers offer the install for next to nothing if you get the pump off them.

Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity - Robert J Hanlon

NonprayingMantis

6434 posts

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#507377 16-Aug-2011 15:28

keewee01: My brother installs heat pumps, he is a fridgie with an electrical ticket so can do it all himself. He usually charges under $800 for a standard installation. The question is, Is yours a standard installation, or is there something special about it that you don't know about?

Having to run some extra copper piping rapidly ramps up the price.

You could ask them for a breakdown of the price.

as far as I can tell, fully standard. they don't need to be plumbed in, right?

the guy who came to quote for us didn't do any close inspection of the wall, a quick look before he wrote down the price.

ETA: I'mnot entirely sure he actually knew what he was talking about. He tried to sell us panel heaters for our other rooms citing howmuch more efficient they were than oil heaters. When I asked him how he managed to beat the principleof conservation of energy he looked quite blank.

networkn

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#507380 16-Aug-2011 15:29

I'd be keen to know as well.

Our bedroom was $2500 including installation, and they provided us the wrong information and gave us a $700 Dehumidifier to cover it.

hellonearthisman

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#507541 16-Aug-2011 20:19

When I got my heatpump installed it cost less than $800 to get it installed.
They brought around a concrete block to put the pump on and a sparky to do the wiring.

Didn't get a grant, but from what I read you just need to have a pro install it and buy a new 'qualifying' heat pump. Read it on http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1108/S00494/homeowners-grab-575-heat-pump-water-heater-grants.htm or it was in one of these pages www.energywise.org.nz www.consumer.org.nz

Regs

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Snowflake

#507650 17-Aug-2011 00:50

for comparisons sake, i had a ducted gas central heating unit installed for around $8k. It heats the entire house, not just one room, and i costs a similar amount to run as a heat pump given the 6c/kw gas prices versus 25c/kw electricity prices. i can also turn it on and have the whole house warm in about 5 minutes, and it works in the cold!

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SimonGeorgeBrown

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#507686 17-Aug-2011 08:45

NonprayingMantis:
keewee01: My brother installs heat pumps, he is a fridgie with an electrical ticket so can do it all himself. He usually charges under $800 for a standard installation. The question is, Is yours a standard installation, or is there something special about it that you don't know about?

Having to run some extra copper piping rapidly ramps up the price.

You could ask them for a breakdown of the price.

as far as I can tell, fully standard. they don't need to be plumbed in, right?

the guy who came to quote for us didn't do any close inspection of the wall, a quick look before he wrote down the price.

ETA: I'mnot entirely sure he actually knew what he was talking about. He tried to sell us panel heaters for our other rooms citing howmuch more efficient they were than oil heaters. When I asked him how he managed to beat the principleof conservation of energy he looked quite blank.

We got a few quotes for heat pumps and the varied massively. Admittedly, there would be a lot involved in our instillation but I would get a few more quotes.

As others have mentioned, you want a good installer, cheapest isn't always the cheapest.

langers1972

1039 posts

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#507691 17-Aug-2011 08:53

Regs: for comparisons sake, i had a ducted gas central heating unit installed for around $8k. It heats the entire house, not just one room, and i costs a similar amount to run as a heat pump given the 6c/kw gas prices versus 25c/kw electricity prices. i can also turn it on and have the whole house warm in about 5 minutes, and it works in the cold!

Warm the whole house, are you mad?

Why do that when you can pay half as much and have a heatpump heat a single room (as long as it's not cold enough to stop it working efficiently which is precisely when you WANT it to work) and leave the rest of the house like an igloo

Is yours a Brivis?

keewee01

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#507843 17-Aug-2011 12:19

Regs: for comparisons sake, i had a ducted gas central heating unit installed for around $8k. It heats the entire house, not just one room, and i costs a similar amount to run as a heat pump given the 6c/kw gas prices versus 25c/kw electricity prices. i can also turn it on and have the whole house warm in about 5 minutes, and it works in the cold!

I must look into this. Our has was built in the early 60's and has a ducting under the floor to an old gas heating system. The previous owner hadn't ever used it and they'd been in the house for more than 20 years.

I should get it checked out and if it is still in good working order then should get it connected to bottled gas.

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