Conor Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 (edited) Anybody experience with them? Prices look great, just not sure about long term life (only 1 year warranty) and noise (52db). How does the tech spec compare to the likes of Daikin, mitsubishi, or Samsung? The COP for 45c dhw is about 3.4, reasonable? Otherwise, the 6KW version would be perfect for my heating (3 small ufh loops) and hot water (180l tank + solar PV immersion in summer). Any feedback appreciated. Could it be used for cooling? https://coolenergyshop.com/products/cool-energy-pro-range-6-24kw-stainless-monoblock-heat-pump-model-ce-h6 Edited August 5, 2019 by Conor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Looks very much like a fairly generic Chinese import. Might be OK, but it doesn't seem to be inverter controlled (giveaway is the big motor start capacitor), so will be an "all or nothing" machine, much like units from a decade or so ago. I suspect a look around somewhere like Alibaba would find the exact same unit available direct from China. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onoff Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Fingers in many pies maybe until they've jumped on a current in vogue / get rich quick scheme maybe? https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10694131/officers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 I’ve spoken to them and they seem pretty reasonable and honest. I think as @JSHarris said - these are branded Chinese units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 38 minutes ago, Onoff said: Fingers in many pies maybe until they've jumped on a current in vogue / get rich quick scheme maybe 3 dissolved companies in 6 years for one of the directors. So no problem with the 1 year warranty then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K78 Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Normally a few bargains on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 4 minutes ago, K78 said: Normally a few bargains on eBay. I have seen some nearly new monbolck units on eBay for a few hundred quid. Almost worth it as an experiment as we know we will have low heat and hot water demands and alternatives for each. I think with the way ASHP is developing and flooding the market, can see the tech improving and prices dropping by the time we will be fitting one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K78 Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 6 minutes ago, Conor said: I have seen some nearly new monbolck units on eBay for a few hundred quid. Almost worth it as an experiment as we know we will have low heat and hot water demands and alternatives for each. I think with the way ASHP is developing and flooding the market, can see the tech improving and prices dropping by the time we will be fitting one. I agree. Ive been tempted by a few eBay bargains in the past but decided to wait. Tech moves so fast and I feared regretting the purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 13 minutes ago, Conor said: I have seen some nearly new monbolck units on eBay for a few hundred quid. Almost worth it as an experiment as we know we will have low heat and hot water demands and alternatives for each. I think with the way ASHP is developing and flooding the market, can see the tech improving and prices dropping by the time we will be fitting one. 2 minutes ago, K78 said: Tech moves so fast and I feared regretting the purchase This is not new technology, prices in the UK may drop though. It is worth looking at CO2 heat pumps and the older gases are being dropped. This may affect long term servicing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 I bought a new, but surplus stock, inverter controlled ASHP from eBay. Turned out to be fine, a brand name unit, complete with controller and manual. The reason it was for sale was because the heating company concerned had pulled out of the heat pump market (I strongly suspect they had burned their fingers installing heat pumps as if they were boilers). As @SteamyTea says, this is technology that's well over 100 years old. About the only things that have changed since Willis Carrier first came up with the idea are inverter controlled compressors and electrically actuated 4 way valves. Everything else is essentially 100 year old technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted August 5, 2019 Author Share Posted August 5, 2019 1 hour ago, JSHarris said: As @SteamyTea says, this is technology that's well over 100 years old. About the only things that have changed since Willis Carrier first came up with the idea are inverter controlled compressors and electrically actuated 4 way valves. Everything else is essentially 100 year old technology. That would explain why I've yet to figure out the difference between a £500 monoblock unit from China and the latest super dooper Diakin offerings, apart from the extra zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 11 minutes ago, Conor said: That would explain why I've yet to figure out the difference between a £500 monoblock unit from China and the latest super dooper Diakin offerings, apart from the extra zero. The main differences will be that most of the cheap Chinese units won't have inverter control (this makes a big difference to both performance and noise level) and getting any sort of warranty or spares support for a Chinese unit is likely to be a bit of a challenge. There's also a significant risk that some of the Chinese units may not be as safe as they could be. Faking approval marks is completely normal at the cheaper end of the market, and no one here in the UK checks that these things are actually safe. Missing earth connections, inadequate wire sizes and poor electrical insulation are pretty much to be expected. Not really a problem if you're aware of the potential problems and are prepared to inspect and check any unit, fixing any inadequacies as you find them. Sometimes you can buy reasonably OK stuff from China, sometimes you can buy stuff that's fine and sometimes you can buy something and find it's lethal. It's pretty much pot luck, in my experience. Having said that, I have a Chinese made lathe that's now OK, but I did have to replace the wiring, motor and control electronics, all of which were near-lethal. I reckon it was good value, as even with the work I've done on it to bring it up to a reasonable standard it was still cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted August 5, 2019 Share Posted August 5, 2019 Ive been looking at this myself as finances will keep us at the lower end of the market... Cool Energy do have an inverter unit, but it's big (a boiler replacement unit really). I asked them if they had plans for a smaller inverter but they refused to acknowledge the need stating that there was no real efficiency saving... Hmm. Earth Save Products have a nice 11kW inverter, and Peak Energy are now branding the Lailey & Coates product, which has a nice simple-looking user interface If you're looking for a 6kW unit, I made the group aware recently of a L&C unit that's currently available at a very good price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 11 hours ago, dpmiller said: If you're looking for a 6kW unit, I made the group aware recently of a L&C unit that's currently available at a very good price. Thanks. Do you have a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethC Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Hello all (I'm new to the forum. @SteamyTea may remember me from greenbuildingforum, and probably will groan!). Anyone know if the big Chinese brands (Midea, Gree, Haier) make decent ASHPs? Buying one of these should give confidence in terms of build quality, proper type approval, performance and perhaps even warranties I would expect (they all sell tens of thousands of aircon units per year in Asia after all), hopefully at reasonable prices, but I don't know anyone that has one (or, to be honest, if they even do air to water instead of just aircon) as I haven't found any to purchase in the UK. Hopefully this question is relevant/of interest to the thread... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 3 hours ago, GarethC said: Hello all (I'm new to the forum. @SteamyTea may remember me from greenbuildingforum I remember the name, but nothing else. Many ASHP get rebranded, so there may be some in the UK, have a hunt on Alibaba and see what looks similar to what is available in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now