Daikin Altherma 3 HHT V Midea M Thermal Arctic R290

HeatPumpNovice

Dear all,

Looking for some advice if possible please.

Background:

We have a 1400’s detached cottage with a 1960’s extension in an exposed site that regularly reached -3 or so over the winter months  

We have done a full gut job and installed a lot of insulation to loft, breathable insulating plaster to walls and also an insulation jacket to the 60’s which was breeze block. Single on upper floor and then a cavity to ground floor which has now been filled with insulation. 

We have installed all new double glazing and rads with the relevant BTU’s for the spaces and underfloor heating on a second loop. 

A new three phase electrical supply has been installed in preperation for the heat pump and future installations.

Heat loss calcs varied dependant on the person conducting the survey, Whilst I found this bizarre apparently they all use different methods. Anyway, the heat loss calculation was coming out at around 10kw.

The company we are using had originally suggested an 18kw Daikin Altherma. We were given the hard sell on it as we were reluctant due to stories of poor customer service. We went ahead with the proposal after having fears allayed about the aftercare.

When it came to installation we were told that Daikin were still to provide the smaller unit that goes inside the plant room. Daikin did not know where it was and could only tell them that it was on order. Apparently since signing up with Octopus Energy, they have overlooked the smaller companies and are giving them all of their stock.

As this has been going on for over a month now we have asked the company to give us a plan B whilst we wait as we need to get heat in to the house.

They have suggested the Midea M Thermal Arctic R290 at 14kw output. 

We are looking for advice as to the quality of this particular unit and experiences with it and any aftercare that was needed from Midea.

We can see it is a big company in Asia for HVAC, but do not see many records of these heatpumps being fitted in U.K. and there have been no reviews on the pump that we can see.

Trustpilot have received really poor reviews of the company in general, but whilst we are being assured that any aftercare will be conducted by the company we are having install the unit, we want to make sure that the machinery is sound, robust and will do the job.

As you can see from the work we have done, we have invested a lot of money and don’t want the house to be cold.

Any help that you are able to give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much! 

NedS

I researched Midea last year as the first quote I received included a Midea unit. I understand they are Chinese and are big producers of HVAC units. I downloaded their technical docs which contained a good level of detail.

I found a couple YouTube videos from installers who reviewed the units and said they were generally well built, folded steel covers, no sharp edges etc (always a sign of cost cutting and poor quality).

I have since learned that other manufacturers are using re-badged Midea units in the UK - I understand Bosch is one such company. I understand quite a few companies do this - they don't want to design and manufacture their own product from scratch, so enter into deals with companies such as Midea with a wealth of experience in the area.

The main criticism I found of the Midea units were their control panels, not being particularly user-friendly. This is a common criticism of heat pumps as it is the main distinguishing feature - otherwise it's a metal box in the garden that extracts heat from air and transmits it to circulating water using a compressor and heat exchanger - all technology that has been around for decades.

Overall, I did not find anything that would prevent me from going with an installer recommending Midea units. If they have experience with them (how many have they installed, and over how long?) and have good after-sales relationships with them, then why not? In most cases, where people have bad installs, it's not the box in the garden but the rest of the system that is connected to it - too much complexity (unnecessary zoning, buffer tanks, LLHs, plate exchangers etc), pipe work is too small, flow rates too low, radiators not big enough etc. Most ASHPs contain exactly the same parts so as long as they are put together reasonably well, it's the rest of the system I would be more concerned about as that is what will massively affect the performance of the system.

In the end we did not go with that company, but for other reasons, not because they supplied Midea heat pumps.

For me, first priority is to have total confidence in your installer. If they are not prepared to go back over things time and time again with you, or are giving you the hard sell, then I'd walk away rapidly. Ask yourself, if there are issues, do you have confidence they will come back and sort things out for you? Better still, are they exhibiting great attention to detail giving you confidence they will get the job done right in the first place so they won't need to come back and fix issues (of their own making)?

zxzxzx

FWIW I have a Midea A2A HP, recommended by my installer who raved about the service they get and reassured me. Been in a year with no issues.
Wikipeadia is worth a look to get a feel for the size of the operation.
I spend a lot of time in Cyprus and have noticed that about 25% of HPs there are Midea, including a lot of government sites.
Good luck.