Heatpumps.....

[INSPECTOR64]

Pretty random but who on here has a heatpump and whats your personal experience with them?Im fucken over dealing with firewood so just want some feedback on what you have;

* Brand?

* Extra power usage per month?

* Heat they put out compared to fireplace?

* How quiet/loud pump is?

* Programmable functions they have?

[Monarchking]

Pretty random but who on here has a heatpump and whats your personal experience with them?Im fucken over dealing with firewood so just want some feedback on what you have;

* Brand?

* Extra power usage per month?

* Heat they put out compared to fireplace?

* How quiet/loud pump is?

* Programmable functions they have?

I rented a place last winter with a heat pump. Worse fucken idea ever. Couldn't heat shit.

That is my experience. Fires ftw.

[mike27]

heat pumps are great!

get a good quality brand and you'll bet all set! dont skimp on a cheap nasty one

[Gym rat]

I also think heatpumps are great as well plus they are good value for money and they do keep the house nice and warm when the weather is cold and crap outside.

[VampireChick]

I have a Mitsubishi heatpump and it was the best purchase I made for my house. While I can't compare to an actual fire, mine heats my home instantly. It also makes an awesome air conditioner in the summer.

It's pretty expensive to run though. For a two bedroom home our power bill comes out to about $220 per month. In saying that, running a tinny oil heater with half the heat was just as expensive.

[wiggy]

i got heat pump in family room..fujitsu 6.25 KW...its great..got it set for 6am so get out of bed and nice and toasty...hardly notice the extra power at all...still got woodburner in the lounger..you don't get the same heat as a woodburner, nothing beats a woodburner for those cold stormy nights...im a gasfitter and put a lot of gas fires in...everyone asks how good it will be..but some people like to sit in the lounge in shorts and t-shirt while others rug up and want the chill took off...also how drafty the house is...aluminium joinery or timber...carpet or polished floors...size of area...just buy one bro and keep a chord of firewood for those cosy nights in!

[crazyfacials]

got a couple at my place, one's a philips and i can't remember the other....great investment and very quite, also helps in the summer when you want to cool a room

[teamfatboy]

My view - based on experience - is that it's superb for background heat in winter. I put a ceiling-mounted ducted unit into a 4br house in Marlborough and it was great for levelling out the extreme highs-and-lows, one of the failings of older kiwi houses is that you heat the room you're in, but then go to cold rooms elsewhere in the house...

Like others have said, with the timer and computer smarts, you don't have massive extremes of heat/ cold... but they do have limits. If you really want to wander around in shorts in mid-winter, a heat-pump may not be the answer, unless you massively over-spec it.

But a logburner or gas fire won't keep you cool in summer!

[tomsammce]

your house has to be well insulated... without good insulation heatpumps and fire places are pretty much pointless... if the hot air is escaping and cold air is coming in... then booyah!

[andy s]

Ive got a mitsubishi thats a shade under 7 kw's from memory. We previously used a bar heater in the lounge and oil heaters in the bedrooms. We have old ceiling insulation and none in the floor. Im relining and batting out the walls at the moment. The heat pumps when sized correctly (go bigger) do an awesome job. We also shaved 50-60 per month off the power bill.

Andy.

[jimjim83]

First thing I would put in a house is gas hot water then a heat pump. The only draw back is if power goes off so does the heat.

Its great being able to have instant heat and being able to set it so the house is warm when you get up in the morning.

With a young family there is no worried about burns from a hot fire or hot oil heater.

Like was said earlier get a good brand dont f*ck around with some cheap arse warehouse crap. As far as house resale goes if there is a mitzi or daikan on the wall you know you wont have to replace it in the near future.

[roadie]

heatpumps only work well for heating if it is not too cold

they are useless when it gets real cold so if you live in central otago you need another heater! or 2

having not read the specs for the wizzy ones that claim to work at low temps you should check the specs as i bet they add power to somehow to maintain the heating when it gets cold....ie just like a normal heater

for the cost they are expensive heaters, but i do have one and they are awesome if you also want cooling in summer

[Chillicat]

We've got a Mitsubishi and it's the best money we spent on our house. Before that we just had a wee fan heater and our bills went down after we put the heat pump in. No idea about comparing with fire, never lived in a house with a fireplace.

We just have ours in the lounge/dining/kitchen area. It wouldn't reach to the whole house, but we don't need the entire house heated, so it's perfect for us.

As for colder places, my sister lives in Chch, and it gets pretty bloody cold there in winter at night, but her house is always toasty almost right away with a heat pump - in fact, I think hers puts out more heat than ours does, so maybe you can get better ones to deal with colder temps?

And the aircon is brilliant in summer - our lounge is a suntrap!

[tonyb]

We have a heat pump & a fire.

Best of both worlds, get home, the heat pump is on.

No freezing your ass off building a fire & waiting for the house to warm up.

Once the fire is away the heat pump turns off. Thermostats rule!

You can't beat the heat & warmth from a fire, heat pumps have a yucky heat that you get sick of, on off on off. Fire is smooth heat all night long.

We leave our heatpump on 24/7 on 17 degrees. It takes the edge off the cold & turns off when the fire starts. Then when the fire dies out the heatpump kicks back in. The house is never cold anymore. We have also noticed that our house is now dry. Before we installed the heatpump the windows were weeping & it was cold & damp even with the fire. Power only increased around $20-$30 per month after heatpump was installed. Dont forget we leave the sucker on 24/7 too. I highly recommend both. You will never be cold again. Oh & dont forget in the summer in the 30+ degrees. The aircon is awesome!

[INSPECTOR64]

Nice feedback people,Mitzi heatpump purchased and awaiting installation

on wednesday :grin:.