Heat Pump Hot Water System Cairns: Plumber's Guide

As your local Cairns plumber, clients often ask us about heat pump hot water systems. These systems have become incredibly popular recently, and for good reason! However, we know many homeowners and businesses in Cairns are unsure of how they truly work and whether they are genuinely suitable for their specific needs.

One key reason for their recent popularity are the various government incentives and rebates available across Australia, including those previously offered by the Queensland Government as part of energy-saving schemes. While these financial incentives can certainly be tempting, is a heat pump hot water system truly the best choice for every Cairns home?

Let's unpack some more information on these hot water systems so that you can fully understand the pros and cons, and make an informed decision with expert local guidance.

Understanding Heat Pump Hot Water Systems: A Cairns Plumber's View

A hot water heat pump system operates on a principle you might already be familiar with: it's essentially like a refrigerator or an air conditioner, but in reverse. Instead of pushing heat out, the heat pump pulls ambient heat from the air around it and transfers it into the water in the cylinder.

If you've spent any time researching heat pumps, you've probably read that a thousand times. But let's look at it in detail to truly understand the magic behind their efficiency.

Here are the basic steps:

• A fan draws warm ambient air from the surroundings into a device called an evaporator. This component looks a lot like a radiator.

• A refrigerant – a special liquid – flows through the evaporator, absorbing the heat from the drawn air.

• The refrigerant then moves into a compressor. As it's compressed, its temperature and pressure significantly increase.

• This now very hot refrigerant runs through a copper coil, which sits either inside or is wrapped around the water storage tank, directly heating the water within.

• Once the heat is transferred, the refrigerant cools, expands, and cycles back up to the evaporator to start the process again, creating a continuous, energy-efficient loop.

If you want to see this in action, you can find a helpful video demonstrating the process here.

There are a few different configurations of heat pump hot water systems available:

• Split Systems: Here, the heat pump unit and the water cylinder are separate, connected by piping to move the refrigerant between them. This offers flexibility in placement.

• Integrated Systems (Top-Mounted): The heat pump unit is installed directly on top of the water cylinder, forming a single, compact unit. This is often simpler for installation.

• Integrated Systems with Electric Element Backup: This configuration includes the heat pump unit on top of the cylinder but also incorporates a traditional electric element.

My personal preference, based on our experience serving Cairns homes, would be the option with the electric element backup, and we can look at why that is a little later on.

Benefits of Heat Pump Hot Water System

The key advantage of heat pump hot water systems is undeniably their reduced energy usage and the substantial savings that accompany them. They are incredibly efficient because they are simply moving heat, not generating it entirely from electricity. The exact amount of energy saved will vary, but generally, manufacturers claim savings of 60% - 70% compared to traditional electric storage systems. Factors that impact energy efficiency include the model, the specific climate (which we'll discuss for Cairns), time of year and day, and the type of system being compared.

Aside from significant energy consumption reduction, there aren't many other direct advantages. However, for many homeowners in Cairns, energy efficiency alone is such a compelling factor that it's often more than enough reason to consider changing over to a hot water heat pump system.

What To Consider Before You Buy

While heat pump hot water systems offer great benefits, it's important to understand potential considerations. There are a lot of different brands and types of heat pump units on the market, so it isn't fair to say that the disadvantages will apply to every system universally. This section will just help you to understand the possible shortcomings and help you to choose the best unit for your specific Cairns home.

Warranty and Repairs: Protecting Your Investment

Warranty is perhaps the most important thing to look into when investing in a heat pump system. The warranty period for heat pumps varies depending on the brand and the part of the unit. Companies usually offer separate warranty periods for the tank, compressor, and backup element. The warranty period for the tank will typically be the longest.

If the compressor or an element fails, we can usually repair the system. However, if the tank itself fails, you won't be able to repair it; you will need to replace the entire unit completely. Heat pump tanks generally have warranties starting at about 5 years, while compressor warranties start at around 2 years. In contrast, most standard electric or gas hot water units often have a tank warranty of 10-12 years.

Some heat pump models do offer longer tank warranties, so we strongly suggest looking into this before you decide on the best unit for your needs. If you have to replace the unit more frequently, it can quickly erode any potential savings from the energy efficiency.

It's crucial to purchase from a well-established company in Australia, like brands stocked by popular plumbing supply shops such as Reece and Tradelink. This ensures that if something does fail, you will have repair parts readily available down the track, because you know these companies are going to be around for the long haul.

Servicing Your Heat Pump Hot Water System

Another important thing to consider is who is able to service a heat pump system. Most plumbers, including our team at Oakland Plumbing, will be able to install and service integrated heat pump units (where the compressor and the tank are one system). However, for split systems where the compressor and tank are separate, specialist refrigeration or air conditioning technicians may be required for certain issues.

Depending on the specific problem with the heater, a plumber may not be able to repair it alone. For example, if there's an issue with the compressor, you may need an air conditioning technician to repair it. While the system is under warranty, this might not be a significant problem as the manufacturer often handles it. However, once the warranty ends, you might need to coordinate several tradespeople to fix any problems that may arise, which can add to inconvenience and cost.

Performance Consistency

This might be the biggest area of concern with heat pump hot water systems, and it's also often the hardest for homeowners to fully grasp. As we said before, heat pumps extract ambient heat from the air around them. This means that the efficiency and speed of heating for heat pump systems can vary depending on the ambient air temperature.

Most of the time in Cairns, this shouldn't be a problem, as our climate is generally warm and humid. However, during the cooler months, or on unusually chilly days, the system's recovery rate might slow down. Unfortunately, that's often precisely when you're going to want hot water the most!

Let's explain this using a few different hot water scenarios to illustrate the difference:

If a family of four each took a 10-minute shower, they would use around 180 litres of hot water.

• A standard 3.6 kW electric storage heater will typically recover 62 litres every hour, meaning your tank would be full again in about 3 hours.

• A heat pump system's recovery rate will vary depending on the ambient temperature. Let's look at the Rheem MPi-325 as an example (the example is based on general data):

  
  

  At 19 degrees Celsius outside (a typical cooler Cairns day in winter), it will recover approximately 35 litres every hour. This would take just over 5 hours to refill the tank after using 180 litres.

  
  

The "Too Good to Be True" Offers

Usually, when something seems too good to be true, that's because it is.

There are some companies around who are offering something like a "$30 hot water system replacement" (often tied to government incentives). The potential problem with these offers is that they are sometimes installing cheap systems from overseas that have very limited after-sales support. It is also often very difficult for local plumbers like us to find replacement parts for these systems once they break, meaning most plumbers won't be able to repair them, and you might be left with a dead system needing full replacement.

While there may be legitimate companies offering heat pump hot water system replacements as part of government grants, we've regrettably heard stories of plumbers having to remove near-new heat pump systems because homeowners have encountered too many problems and are unable to get the original company to honour warranties or provide repairs.

We're not saying you shouldn't consider one of these offers, as we have spoken to some people who have installed one of these systems and are perfectly happy with it. However, it is absolutely vital to thoroughly research the company and the specific product they're offering before you commit. Look for transparency on brand, model, warranty, and local support.

Conclusion

Heat pump hot water systems certainly have many great features, especially with the advancements in technology from major brands. They offer significant energy savings and can be an excellent addition to a Cairns home. However, as we've explored, it is important to know what to look for when choosing a system, considering factors like warranty, servicing requirements, and performance consistency in varying temperatures.

Making an informed decision about your hot water system is key to long-term satisfaction and savings. Always check independent heater reviews and, crucially, call a trustworthy local plumber in Cairns for expert advice and assistance in choosing and installing the right system for your specific needs. If you're in Cairns and considering a heat pump hot water system, get in touch with Oakland Plumbing.

We would be more than happy to provide honest advice, help you understand your options, and point you in the right direction to ensure you get the best hot water solution for your home.