Everyone likes to have their say on the Product Review website …
They certainly do, but it is definitely not the place to do your heat pump research! It is a blunt instrument at best, with people who are unhappy about their product being much more motivated to write about it than people whose system is working smoothly. And quite often the concern is about poor after-sale service, where minor problems can easily be resolved. As for satisfied heat pump owners, they are more likely to be getting on with their lives and not thinking about their heat pump hot water system.
That said, blunt instrument as a product review may be, it is possible to see trends, with the highest quality heat pump systems tending to get higher ratings. From a quick glance at ratings in August 2021, we find:
- The premium Reclaim heat pumps (which feature a top of the range Japanese heat pump matched to tanks made in Australia) score 4.9 out of 5 stars;
- The highly regarded Sanden heat pumps, which also feature a high quality Japanese heat pump scores 4 out of 5 stars;
- Stiebel Eltron heat pumps, a quality German brand, scores 3.9 out of 5 stars;
- Midea heat pumps score 3.4 out of 5 stars;
- Quantum heat pump score 2.6 out of 5 stars;
- Dux Airoheat scores 1.4 out of 5 stars;
- Rinnai Enviroflo scores 1 out of 5.
What are we to make of this? For a start, let’s say that reviewers generally score low rather than high. At Harvest Hot Water we are continuously researching the actual performance of various heat pumps brands in Canberra, one of the most demanding climate in Australia for heat pumps. That includes ongoing monitoring of the energy use of various heat pump brands. All brands that we install are working very well.
From that perspective we would say that from the above list, any brand that scores about 3 is likely to be a reliable performer.
Want to know more about it? Contact us at Harvest Hot Water.