Are Quality Heat Pumps Worth the Price Tag?

Your choice of heating and cooling systems not only plays a pivotal role in your comfort year-round, but can help to significantly reduce your bills.

While there are various HVAC options available on the Victorian market, one that stands out – if only for its versatility, efficiency and eligibility for generous Victorian government rebates – is the heat pump.

But are quality heat pumps worth it?

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the merits of investing in quality heat pumps for a range of applications in your home or workplace, addressing questions of longevity, warranty, advanced technology, and long-term savings.

Let’s run through the basics first.

What is a Heat Pump?

Before we take a look at what differentiates a quality heat pump from all cheaper alternatives, let’s understand exactly what a heat pump is and how it works.

Put simply, a heat pump is a specifically designed electric HVAC system that serves a dual purpose: importantly, depending on the system into which it’s installed, a heat pump can provide both heating during the winter and cooling in the summer.

The pure magic behind this kind of system lies in its ability to transfer heat – either from the outdoors to inside your home in winter or from the indoors to the outside to cool your home in summer. It’s surprisingly versatile, and super clean.

In colder weather conditions, heat pumps use refrigerant-filled coils to extract heat from the ambient and/or outdoor air and transfer that inside. In warmer months, heat pumps can reverse this process, absorbing heat from indoors and expelling it outside. As you might imagine, this cools your space – all without gas or other non-renewable sources of energy production.

Heat pumps have gained significant popularity in Victoria during recent times. This is largely due to their efficiency and the fact that many higher-end models maintain the ability to work effectively in lower-temperature conditioners.

As you can imagine, when choosing a heat pump, it’s essential to consider various factors beyond the initial price tag – and especially so if you’re living within Victoria’s ever-changing climate.

Is a Heat Pump Better than Gas?

To understand the true worth of quality heat pumps over other options, it’s essential to compare heat pump systems to similar alternatives, such as gas heating systems.

Gas heating systems have long been a common choice in Victorian households, and are one of the most common legacy systems to be found in existing builds. And yet, they come with significant downsides.

As well as being questionable from a safety perspective (especially very old gas heaters), gas heaters can be subject to volatile gas prices. What’s more, the combustion of natural gas contributes a significant amount to greenhouse gas emissions.

And as if you didn’t need another reason: you may well have read by now that the Victorian government will phase out gas connections in all new homes, beginning 1 January 2024.

The long and the short of it? Gas is not a sustainable method of heating your home. The best way to invest in both your home is by opting for a heat pump (or, at the very least, exploring it as an option).

What Sets Quality Heat Pumps Apart from Cheap Options?

Now we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s explore what sets quality heat pumps apart from cheaper heat pump options available on the Victorian market:

Warranty periods and longevity of function

Quality heat pumps often come with extended warranties (on both parts and labour) as standard, which helps provide ultimate peace-of-mind. Some reputable manufacturers, such as those we offer at G Store, feature comprehensive warranty coverage, which can extend for several years.

Importantly, these extended warranties safeguard your previous financial investment and can significantly reduce maintenance and repair costs over the lifespan of the system. Cheaper heat pumps typically offer shorter warranty periods and may not be as robust, leading to early wear and tear and more frequent repairs.

Check out the brands of heat pump stocked by G Store online today:

• Reclaim heat pump
• Sanden heat pump
• iStore heat pump
• Rinnai Enviroflo Heat Pump
• Stiebel Eltron heat pump

Give us a call on 1300 137 567 to discuss options that are best suited for your needs.

Better functionality

Quality heat pumps are known for their versatility. Particular models can be used for a range of purposes, including heating swimming pools and facilitating hydronic heating and cooling systems.

These top-tier heat pumps are also meticulously designed to rigorous standards, incorporating robust engineering and design principles. This attention to detail significantly reduces the likelihood of malfunctions, making them vastly more reliable to other budget-friendly heat pump options.

Note that many cheaper heat pumps, usually due to poor design and lower-quality components, are often more prone to malfunctions, leading to hidden repair and maintenance costs over time.

What are the Possible Consequences of Choosing a Cheap Heat Pump?

If you’re looking at them as an option, it’s important to consider both the short and long-term consequences of choosing a cheaper heat pump.

While more budget-friendly heat pump options might seem like a great idea at the time, choosing a cheaper alternative with poor characteristics and functionalities can cause significant frustrations down the line.

Cheap heat pumps can:

• Be more susceptible to malfunctions and wear and tear due to their subpar design and inferior components
• Be subject to poor warranty coverage
• Have a narrow operating temperature range, meaning they may not be able to cope with Victoria’s dynamic weather conditions
• Break down more easily
• Require more regular maintenance and repair

What’s more, cheaper heat pumps rarely come with ongoing support and guidance from the retailer/installer. We suggest remembering that any heat pump purchase is not simply about installing the product itself. You should consider what support and warranties come with the heat pump, and for how long you’ll be supported, covered and protected after the sale.

What Savings Can I Make with a Quality Heat Pump?

It’ll come as no surprise to you that the upfront cost of quality heat pumps will always vary based on key determiners such as:

• The model you choose
• Victorian hot water rebates (or other incentives) available to you
• The purpose for which you’ll use your heat pump
• The weather conditions into which you’ll install your heat pump
• The source from which your heat pump will draw heat (e.g. air, ground etc.)

However, it’s still important to note that investing in a high-quality heat pump should most certainly be considered an investment in your household’s long-term savings.

High-quality heat pumps are specifically designed for improved efficiency, often achieving Seasonal Coefficient of Performance (SCOP) ratings of 300% or higher – a huge win for bill-minded homeowners. Essentially, this means that these heat pump models produce three or more units of heat for every unit of electricity consumed.

With rising gas prices and an increasingly unstable energy grid, high-quality heat pumps can significantly reduce demand on your back pocket over time.

Is There a Rebate for Heat Pumps in Victoria?

One factor that can make the upfront cost of a high-quality heat pump significantly more accessible to you is the Victorian heat pump rebates for which you and your household may be eligible.

One such example is the Victorian hot water rebate, available for both heat pump hot water systems and solar hot water systems. You can find out more about this rebate by visiting Solar Victoria’s website, or jumping on the rebate-specific section of the free resources over at our learning centre.

Wrapping up

Looking for more info on heat pumps available in Victoria, plus the brands and models we stock and recommend at G Store?

Visit our Learning Centre today, or give our award-winning G Store team a call today on 1300 137 567 for free, generous advice regarding all of your questions.

We can’t wait to meet you.