At Powrhouse, we believe the Apricus heat pump hot water unit ticks all the boxes. Our Apricus heat pump review runs through the four key factors we believe you need to consider about heat pump hot water units, including:
- Cost
- Reliability
- Refrigerant
- Maintenance
1. Apricus Cost
A standard Apricus heat pump installation through Powrhouse costs around $2,500 fully installed (assuming customers are eligible for all rebates, including the Solar Victoria hot water rebate).
This price is mid-range. It’s a little more expensive than other mid-range units like Aquatech, about the same as iStore and Haier, and considerably lower than the premium units like Sanden and Reclaim. It’s more expensive than poorer quality units like Emerald, Ecogenica or Midea.
2. Reliability
It’s very difficult to definitely say one heat pump hot water unit is more reliable than another. We recommend considering a variety of factors including:
- how long the current unit has been in market
- previous customer experiences including reviews and online forums
- warranty terms
- the company offering the warranty
We like reviews at Powrhouse because it’s one thing to take our word, or a plumber’s word, but a multitude of reviews are very helpful. We also place greater value on reviews of units that have been operating for a long time. Reviews of units that have been operating for 5 years are more valuable than reviews of units that have been operating for 5 months. We like Product Review and the Facebook Group My Electric Efficient Home.
Apricus heat pumps currently score 4.6 on Product Review. However, this is only from 11 reviews, so it’s not a large sample size.
The Apricus heat pump has a mid-market leading 6-year comprehensive warranty. iStore’s warranty is 5 years, Haier’s warranty is 7 years but only 5 years labour and Aquatech’s warranty is only 5 years, so out of the four mid-market units we think are the best value, Apricus has the best warranty.
I also like that Apricus is backed by a strong company, the same company that makes Reclaim heat pumps. Apricus Australia has been around a long time, originally focussing on solar hot water systems. The Apricus heat pump hot water system was first released to the market in 2022, but the company has been around since 2005. I think this is a good sign that the company will be around for a long time to come, which is especially important when considering the warranty (will the company still be around in future to honour any warranty claims?)
3. Refrigerant
Apricus heat pumps uses Propane (R290) as a refrigerant. Propane has a Global Warming Potential (GWPs) of 3 and is only bettered by Carbon Dioxide as a refrigerant with a Global Warming Potential of 1.
4. Maintenance
The maintenance requirements are standard for the Apricus heat pump. Every 6 months the owner should operate the PTR valve and perform a general check of the system. Every 3 years the anode should be check and replaced if needed.
Apricus Heat Pump Review Summary
Powrhouse is independent. Powrhouse recommends Apricus purely as a result of our thorough research of the heat pump hot water market. The conclusion of this research is we think the Apricus all-in-one heat pump ticks all the boxes: it’s affordable, reliable, backed by a strong company and requires little maintenance.
In the heat pump mid-market we also like Aquatech, Haier and iStore. But it’s very difficult if not impossible to definitively say one is better than the other. They are all good quality units which we happily distribute and install. Feel free to get in touch with us and we’d be happy to talk you through the pros and cons of each.
And of course, if you are interested in a quote for a heat pump hot water unit, we’d love to hear from you.
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