Heat Pump Compare seeks to help consumers make informed decisions about heat pump hot water units.
Reviews of heat pump hot water units are an integral part of the educational material we provide.
I have now written around 20 reviews on different units based around my four factor framework for analysing units: Cost, Reliability, Refrigerant and Maintenance.
My Opinion
The reviews posted on Heat Pump Compare are my opinion. That's why I clearly title each review as "Tim's [insert brand] Review." In compiling my reviews, I refer to as many data sources as possible, including:
- Reviews from websites like Product Review and Google Reviews
- Manufacturer websites
- Owners manuals
- Warranty terms and conditions
- Forums and Facebook Groups
- Discussions with industry participants, including installers
For example, when assessing the reliability of a unit we look at the reviews of the unit, the warranty terms, the company offering the warranty (have they been around a long time, are they likely to be around to honour warranty claims in future) and discussions with industry participants.
My Sanden review is a good example. Sanden's reviews on Product Review are quite poor, but Sanden has a great reputation in the industry. I heard a rival manufacturer of premium heat pump hot water units speak highly of Sanden at the All Energy Expo in Melbourne in 2023.
I have not personally used every heat pump hot water unit I have reviewed. To do so would be impractical.
Individual Opinions
I don't pay much attention to the experience or opinion of just one person. If one person emails me or posts in a group saying they've had a terrible experience with Product X, this carries little weight. Statistically a sample size of 1 is meaningless and every manufacturer will have cases of customers not being happy with their unit.
However, where I receive repeated notifications, or I am made aware of the experience of multiple people about a particular brand or product, I start to take more notice and may factor this into my reviews.
Negative Reviews
If my review is negative about a particular unit, in no way am I trying to harm that brand or cause it injury. I am simply trying to provide a helpful, independent review to readers based on the information available.
Manufacturer Input
To that end, all manufacturers of products list on Heat Pump Compare are contacted and given the opportunity to fix any factual errors and inform me of any issues with my reviews. I will immediately fix any factual errors and I am open-minded to changing the contents of the review, while retaining editorial control.
Independence
Lastly, please note, my reviews are independent.
Heat Pump Compare is not associated with any heat pump installer, manufacturer, brand or company and has no financial or other incentives to promote any product over another. Heat Pump Compare charges installers a modest fee for each lead that is sent to them as a result of a user completing the Quote request form. It is up to the installers to recommend a unit to the user.
