Appliances Direct - Electriq - any experiences?

[Radian]

In another topic @JSHarris suggested I look at using air-to-air heating/cooling in our fully glazed extension project. In researching these units I kept landing at Appliances Direct. Apart from their obvious SEO skills I was wondering if there was any experience of their actual service/products. At one point they appear to have set up a brand called electriq offering a wide range of domestic appliances at temptingly low prices. Electriq is then applied to white-label goods as, in the case of HVAC, identical units can be found on the Chinese TCL company website and indeed both electriq and TCL units can be found at appliances direct and their storefront on Amazon

 

I'm looking hard at this 12000BTU unit which has plug & play connections for £550. I think this handily removes the need for vacuum kit for DIY installation ?️

[Jeremy Harris]

I've purchased from appliances direct in the past with no problems.  The self-install air-to-air heat pumps look to be easy enough to fit, and quite neat.  For the modest heating demand for your extension I can't see why one of these units shouldn't work well.  The only thing I'd perhaps want to look at closely would be the maximum cooling capacity and the noise level.  The latter can vary a lot from one model to another.  One office I worked in ended up replacing the air con units because of the noise, and the replacements were virtually silent.

[Onoff]

I've purchased brand names from Appliance Direct before no issue.

 

Also running two ElectriQ Android boxes here on two old tvs. Assume they have fingers in many pies.

 

https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/about-the-appliance-industry/manufacturer-information/4057-electriq-appliances

[ProDave]

Do these things run at variable powers like an ASHP or are they "all or nothing"  I think what I am getting at, is should you be expecting variable speed inverter drive?  It does not say.

[Radian]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the company. With such a broad base of products it's no wonder there are some poor reviews out there although I've seen none regarding the HVAC kit they sell.

 

Here's a link to the spec sheet for the eIQ-12WMINVQC. It is variable speed inverter drive although it only has three speeds H/M/L

The indoor noise levels are a bit of a concern: " Sound pressure level (dB/A) 30~40 - Sound power level (dB/A) 40~50 "

Sound pressure/power ??? Neither are the lowest figures I've seen but then again this isn't £1000 and it is plug & play which is hugely attractive to me.

 

3 hours ago, JSHarris said:

The only thing I'd perhaps want to look at closely would be the maximum cooling capacity and the noise level.

 

Cooling load is harder to determine but as I said in the other thread, the location is well-shaded by the main house around mid-day. Frankly, cooling is still a bit of a bonus in my view anyway. The main win is getting heat-on-demand from electricity at significantly lower energy costs when compared with simple I²R heating.

[Jeremy Harris]

My experience is that cooling is a significantly greater power demand in hot weather than heating ever is in cold weather, especially with a lot of glazing.  Our highest solar gain comes from the East through to the South East in the morning; by midday in summer it generally isn't a problem.

[Gone West]

I looked into air to air units some time ago. The electriQ range uses Panasonic compressors according to the AirCon Direct site and £400 for 9000Btu sounds good.

 

https://www.aircondirect.co.uk/p/879042/9000-btu-panasonic-powered-a-easy-fit-inverter-wall-split-air-conditioner-with-5-meters-pipe-kit-and-5-years-warranty

[Ferdinand]

@Radian

 

I cannot comment on the item, though I have a tenant who bought an air conditioner from them last summer during the very hot period.

 

I am a couple of miles from their warehouse, and they have that and a 4-500 Sqm showroom nea m1j28; my bear-fridge was an ex-demo from there.

 

I have been buying from there for a few years, and I would trust their own brands as much a S any others. I have a couple of own brand 5 burner gas hobs, which have been in student houses since 2012 and we’re not going expensive.

 

Not sure whether I have used the Electroniq brand, however. I put a non branded ceramic hob and hood in the Little Brown Bungalow project from there, but they were their unmarked own brand.

 

They do not negotiate very far in price ? . My only success was an extra 10% off the ex-demo fridge, and I think free delivery when I ordered a lot of appliances, ie 8 or 10, at once. 

 

They may have a good value extended warranty, but I think those have gone.

 

Ferdinand

 

 

 

 

Edited March 7, 2019 by Ferdinand

[Mr Punter]

11 minutes ago, Ferdinand said:

my bear-fridge was an ex-demo from there

 

Do you use this to store large hairy men? A bestseller in nearby Brighton no doubt.

[Ferdinand]

4 minutes ago, Mr Punter said:

 

Do you use this to store large hairy men? A bestseller in nearby Brighton no doubt.

 

it’s a LiebHerr, pronounced Lee-Bear, and it probably would store a medium size bear.

 

If you leave it on super freeze by mistake, the freezer is at about -30 by the morning.

 

As for large, hairy men... ???.

 

Ferdinand

 

Edited March 7, 2019 by Ferdinand