1. Heat Pumps Are Too Small
Often heat pumps are sold that are not sized correctly for your hot water consumption, what I mean by this is many companies are looking at making a quick buck out of your installation and are not focused on providing you with a system that will suit your needs, they are more interested in selling you a system that will get them a sale.
So it’s imperative that you ensure you are buying a system that will provide you and your family with an adequate supply of hot water whilst maintaining an efficient cost of heating. If the system sold to you is too small, it will heat more often than it should, therefore costing you more in energy, they will work harder than they should and inevitably shorten their life and they will often use a backup element rather than just the heat pump to try and keep up with your consumption costing you more money again, and this goes against the whole idea of buying and energy efficient product.
Heat pumps use far less energy than traditional gas or electric water heaters, and therefore take longer to reheat than what you may be used to.
Solution: Always get a heat pump that is oversized rather than one that is undersized, no one likes cold showers or high energy bills, so ensure you cover in detail with your plumber what your hot water consumption and needs are.
Example:
- How many people are in your family consuming hot water and how often?
- What appliances run on hot water?
- Do you have a large bath or spa?
2. Heat Pumps Are Too Noisy
Heat pumps make roughly as much noise as your modern reverse-cycle air conditioners. They are not silent like your existing electric or gas system. Inexperienced installers tend to install heat pumps in the location as your existing water heater, and this may be right beside a bedroom window.Â
Whilst a modern air conditioner doesn’t create offensive noise and neither does a heat pump hot water system, trust me, in the dead of night and your heat pump, is located near your bedroom window, you will hear it, and it will bug you.
Solution: When buying a new heat pump water heater always ensure that it is installed in an area that is not close to a bedroom window, and put it in a location out of the way where it can turn on and off without bother.
3. They Don't Save Money or Energy
Whilst a good quality heat pump does run considerably more efficiently than a traditional electric water heater, if incorrectly installed or inferior units are installed you may not see significant savings on your energy bill.
Things to consider:
- You get what you pay for, smaller cheaper products will work harder and use more energy to heat the water than a good quality correctly sized unit.
- Ensure your heat pump is located in a position that is preferably outside, and in an area with good airflow so that the fan can work without obstruction.
- Spend the money on a good quality heat pump water heater, you only get 1 shot at the $2000 rebates so ensure you’ve chosen wisely.
- Different heat pumps have different settings, you may find that you can set your heat pump to work in conjunction with your solar power system.
- If your existing water heater is on off-peak 1 or two, you may save on your energy consumption but you won’t see massive reductions in your energy bill dollar wise
- If you currently have solar power, you may find that the heating costs of your existing electric unit are already being offset by the amount of energy you are generating, so installing a heat pump will obviously lessen your consumption but may not reflect in huge dollar savings (this is dependant on what size PV system you have)
4. The Rebates Are A Waste of Taxpayer Money
Those of us old enough to remember will recall the heat pump, insulation and solar frenzy that occurred back in 2010/2011. Where every man and his dog bought a ute and was installing something for a discounted rate, all on the back of government incentives.
What we saw then was inferior products and shoddy workmanship across each incentivised industry, where millions upon millions of dollars were wasted and inevitably the scheme was shut down, due to money being wasted and lives being lost.
Well, it seems our government is doing the same thing again and is allowing fly-by-night companies to sell inferior products imported from foreign countries. Whilst there is a place for imported cheap products, I find it unbelievable that on the back of taxpayer money, we are yet again allowing inferior products to be installed by unlicensed companies without any repercussions.
The rebates should only be allowed for quality Australian products sold by reputable Australian companies, ensuring that the rebate dollar stays in the country and doesn’t line the pockets of our international neighbours.
Solution :
- Buy from reputable Australian companies that sell reputable Australian products.
- Ensure installers carry both plumbing and electrical licenses.
- Don’t buy cheap inferior products that won’t last or offer true efficiencies
5. Heat Pumps Break Down All the Time
Yes, it’s true, back in 2010-2013 when government incentives were offered for heat pumps, the demand skyrocketed and local manufacturers struggled to keep up with demand. A product of this huge demand was a lack of quality control and therefore many units that were installed 10 years ago or more were lemons.
Fortunately, the local manufacturers have learnt from their past mistakes and have invested heavily over the past 10 years in the R and D of their heat pump products, enabling them to easily increase production and maintain high quality and standards throughout every aspect of the manufacturing process. I’m happy to say that the products now on offer are better and more robust than they have ever been
6. The Paperwork is Too Hard to Claim The Rebates
Yes, the paperwork is immense when claiming government incentives. It’s as though they want to make it as difficult as possible so that the rebates are only accessible to those who love paperwork or have time t complete the paperwork.
But don’t worry, if you use a reputable licensed installer they will take the burden off your hands and claim the rebate on your behalf, ensuring that the process is seamless and of no concern to the customer. The Installer should also deduct the value of your rebates at the point of sale, this means you don’t have to wait around to receive your cashback.
7. Heat Pumps Are Too Expensive
Yes, heat pumps are a large purchase, in fact, they can be over $6000 for the best products on the market, however, the products that I recommend are more affordable than $6000 and are proven to have reliability and efficiency and are designed for the Australian climate made by Reputable Australian companies.
Whilst I will never offer the cheapest imported products I will provide quality manufactured equipment that I have installed for many years. dollars are spent on products that will not disappoint and that will keep you in hot water for many years.