Get cosy with the right heat pump for you
If winter follows you inside before you can shut the door behind you, it is time to prepare your strategy to repel it.
Grant and Michelle Wadley of Enviro Master are expert advisers in this battle against the cold.
For each person, they discuss the specific heating requirements of the home so they can recommend the heat pump best suited to the household’s requirements.
Increasingly, people are considering multi-unit systems and ducted systems to convey warmth to various areas within a house, Grant says.
Multi-systems typically include one outdoor unit and up to five indoors, spread throughout the house to give the householder independent control of heating levels in each room.
Ducted systems are the most discreet option available and can incorporate ventilation as well.
Enviro Master sells high-wall systems that use R32 refrigerant and therefore have lower global warming potential while typically being more energyefficient than earlier types of gas.
‘‘There are new products using R32 refrigerant from all the manufacturers,’’ Grant says.
‘‘The latest is Panasonic’s new floor console, which is the newest and only floor model available on the new refrigerant.’’
Grant and Michelle have been operating Enviro Master since 2002, giving customers access to many years of specialist engineering experience in heating and refrigeration systems.
Such experience can avert basic installation errors that occur when systems have not been correctly sized beforehand.
‘‘That can result in a lot of money being spent and insufficient heating. Systems are sometimes installed in the wrong place because the technician is more interested in an easy installation than finding the best location for heating the room,’’ Grant says.
Enviro Master has no affiliation to any single manufacturer and is therefore unbiased when recommending the best unit for a home. Recommendations are instead based on the particular requirements of the customer and the environment in which the heat pump will operate.
Enviro Master has one of the widest ranges of heat pumps in Christchurch. Models include those from Panasonic, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi and Daikin.
The company can also fit a hot water heat pump to an existing cylinder or supply and install a Bosch integrated heat pump cylinder outside the home, giving people more cupboard space or, potentially, a larger room.
Grant recommends filters be kept clean and that outside units be clear of shrubs and bushes with an open space of at least 1.5 metres in front of them.
Full heat pump servicing is also available through Enviro Master.
For a free, in-home consultation, call Enviro Master on 03 366 0525 or visit the showroom at 41A Shakespeare Rd, Waltham. For more information, see enviromaster.co.nz