Looking for a powerful and efficient way to stay cool during the summer months? Or maybe it’s time to warm up before New Zealand’s chilly winter season hits. Either way, a Rinnai Heat Pump is the ideal year-round comfort solution.
Our innovative range offers stylish and efficient heating and cooling solutions, adding a layer of superior comfort to your home or business. So whether you’re building a new place, you’re a landlord with tenants who require better climate control, or you simply have a room you’d like to cool or heat, here’s everything you need to know about the world of Heat Pumps:
Heat Pumps are wall-mounted or ducted units that work by pumping conditioned air into a specific room or the entire home. Both systems use vents or ducts to circulate heated or cooled air depending on the season.
In heating mode, Heat Pumps are like a reverse refrigerator. That’s because they don’t create heat – they simply transfer it from one place to another.
In winter, the system absorbs heat from the cold air outside and transfers it inside your home using refrigerant as the heat transfer medium. It may seem counter-intuitive to use cold air as a heat source, but heat energy is present even at very cold temperatures.
A Heat Pump in heating mode operates just like it does in cooling mode, except that the flow of refrigerant is reversed by the aptly named reversing valve. This flow reversal means that the heating source becomes the outside air (even when outdoor temperatures are low) and the heat energy is released inside the home. The outside coil now has the function of an evaporator, and the indoor coil now has the role of the condenser.
In summer, the process is reversed and the pump will act as an air conditioner, extracting heat energy from the surrounding environment within your home and transferring it outside using the same heat transfer medium.
If you’d like to learn more about our innovative Heat Pump technology, this ‘How Does a Heat Pump Work?’ blog article is well worth a read.
A high wall Heat Pump is the standalone unit you see attached to walls in bedrooms, lounges and other living areas. These units are designed to heat or cool a single room and are incredibly efficient, as they only change the temperature of the room they’re in.
A ducted Heat Pump is a discreet whole-home heating and cooling solution. They flow air through every room in the house, providing you and your family with a consistent temperature throughout and are conveniently concealed in the ceiling.
Wi-Fi Control
Set your favourite temperature from anywhere, with our intuitive Android or Apple App. Come home to ultimate comfort.
Inverter Technology
Powerful to heat and cool fast, but also smart, seamless operation to maintain consistent temperature and reduce running costs.
Quiet Operation
Designed to keep noise levels to a minimum without affecting performance, thanks to its clever design optimised to deliver better air distribution.
3D Airflow
Air blades can be controlled to swing both horizontally and vertically, allowing for balanced room temperature and comfort.
Heating and Cooling
All year round comfort, with full temperature control suited to your needs.
Turbo Function
Quickly cool in summer or swiftly warm in winter.
Dehumidifying Mode
Efficiently manages room humidity levels to ensure optimum comfort levels during humid summer days.
Timer
A delay ON or OFF timer allows you to select a period of time (from 30 minutes to 24 hours), the unit will turn either on or off depending on its current status.
Sleep Mode
The Pro Series intelligent sleep mode operates on a two-way temperature control that modulates up and down to mimic outside ambient temperatures, ensuring a comfortable sleep.
Demand Control
Equipped with demand response capability (DRED) to help reduce overall power consumption at critical peak load times. This is dependent upon where and when available from NZ energy providers.
R32 Refrigerant
R32 refrigerant has lower global warming potential than traditional refrigerants. Also provides higher energy efficiency while using lower refrigerant volumes.
Whole Home Temperature Control
A combination of control mechanisms constantly monitor the system operating conditions to maintain your desired climate setting. 3D DC synchronisation ensures a fast and controlled warm-up and cool-down.
Sleep Mode
Designed to control the temperature overnight to ensure high quality, comfortable sleep. Traditional sleep mode temperature control is one way; however, our intelligent sleep mode system operates on two-way temperature control that modulates up and down to mimic outside ambient temperatures.
Controller Features
Zoning
Zoning of rooms is deliverable via third-party zone controllers. Compatible systems include MyAir, AirTouch and iZone. Contact us for more information.
6 Year Warranty*
A comprehensive 6 year parts and labour warranty provides you with total peace of mind when installed by a Rinnai accredited installer.
3D Airflow
Air blades can be controlled to swing both horizontally and vertically, allowing for balanced room temperature and comfort.
Wi-Fi Control
All Rinnai ducted heat pumps are supplied as standard with Wi-Fi control via a mobile app. With simple activation and ease of use, the app can be downloaded via the App Store or Google Play on a compatible mobile device. Once installed and registered, you can operate your appliance on the go.
Basic functions like on/off and temperature control can be accessed through the app. Best of all, the Wi-Fi control allows you to switch on your NZ heat pump from outside the home - always come home to comfort, no matter what the weather.
Multiple Fan Speeds
The unit has the ability to run on turbo mode to rapidly reach set temperatures within a shorter period of time, as well as the option of a ‘quiet’ mode once the room has reached set temperature.
Some of the key things you’ll want to think about before you choose a Heat Pump include:
A Heat Pump that's the wrong size can leave you cold and cost you more in power consumption. Correctly determining the size of equipment for your space is important as it directly relates to how much energy or heat the unit can produce. An undersized unit will be less effective in bringing a room to the desired temperature, while an oversized unit will turn off and on frequently, causing wear and tear.
Because of the technical nature of sizing, the key to picking the right sized Heat Pump for your home is getting an assessment and talking through your options with an accredited professional.
The Rinnai Q Series range is available in five sizes and the Rinnai Pro Series is available in six sizes to suit virtually any room or household, making both ranges an ideal year-round comfort solution for home. Alternatively, our Ducted Central Heating & Cooling systems are designed to create a perfect and even temperature throughout every room in the house.
Use our calculator below to help identify which of our Heat Pumps is right for your space.
Use our heat pump guide to help identify which of our heat pumps is right for your space.
You’ve made the decision to have a Heat Pump installed, had installation companies quote for the work and signed on the dotted line… but do you really know what’s instore on the day of install?
The installation of your Heat Pump is a critical step in ensuring it performs to its full potential and is positioned for optimum efficiency. Each system has specific requirements for the amount of airflow it needs so the installer will consider things such as where the windows are located, what kind of ventilation is available, and how your family lives within the space that’s being air conditioned.
Locating the indoor unit in a corner of a room, across a hallway, or in areas where it will be subject to draughts from other rooms will have adverse effects on performance - be aware however, that the best position in a technical sense may not be the best position from an aesthetic or symmetrical point of view.
The best location for the outdoor unit will be based on placing it where it will have the least exposure to the elements and to dust and debris. A nearby tree that sheds pods or leaves, or a dusty and overgrown garden area, may make your Heat Pump more susceptible to getting dirty or blocked, leading to poor functionality.
The time it takes to install a Heat Pump Air Conditioning system can be as short as 3-4 hours for a very simple back to back installation (e.g. indoor and outdoor units located on either side of the same wall and effectively back to back) or up to an entire day for larger, more complicated installations. Ducted systems may take a few days, depending on the number of spaces or ‘zones’ within you home that wanting to air condition.
To prepare you for what to expect when the technicians arrive on installation day, below is an overview of a standard Split System Heat Pump installation.
For a step-by-step guide on what to expect when it comes to Heat Pump installation, check out our blog article 'What to Expect From a Heat Pump Installation'.
We’re often asked about the optimal temperature for a Heat Pump. We advise New Zealanders to set their units to somewhere between 18 and 22 degrees in winter. If you want to keep it on all night, you can drop the temperature back to around 18 degrees – or use the ‘Sleep Function’ to take care of it for you. During summer, you can run your Heat Pump on cooling mode at around 18 or 19 degrees. If you want to run it all night you could increase the temperature by a degree or two.
If you’re not at home during the day, there’s no need to keep running your Heat Pump as this could add to your power bills unnecessarily. If your home has good insulation, a couple of hours in the morning and a few hours in the evening should be enough to keep you cool or warm depending on the season.
In terms of maintenance, servicing is often overlooked. We recommend you have your unit professionally serviced every 12 months, ideally before the start of winter, to ensure it’s working optimally. DIY home maintenance can help keep your unit working effectively and efficiently, but shouldn’t replace professional servicing by an accredited Heat Pump Air Conditioning technician.
For more information on how to keep your Heat Pump Air Conditioner working at its best, plus tips on DIY home maintenance, read our ‘Maintaining Your Heat Pump’ blog article.
To find out if your Heat Pump Air Conditioner is showing signs it needs a professional service, our article 'When Does Your Heat Pump Need Servicing?' can help.
The cost of your Heat Pump will vary depending on its size and the complexity of the installation. Rinnai Heat Pumps come with a 6-year warranty when the unit is installed by a Rinnai Accredited Installer (5 years for non-accredited installers).
Use our handy tool to find a dealer who can advise you on the best solution for your space.
Contestants from The Block NZ
"After living without a heat pump for about half a year we recently had a Rinnai heat pump installed. We live in a partially insulated home but you would never know given our Rinnai's heating efficiency. We no longer experience crying windows, which used to be commonplace before having the heat pump installed. The heat pump is extremely efficient, able to heat the whole house (80sqm) fast and keeps the moisture out of the air.
We run our heat pump a lot and it is far more cost effective than when we were using electric heaters. The air conditioner mode is a life saver too for our two fluffy dogs on hot summer days. We couldn’t recommend our Rinnai heat pump enough."
- Stacy and Adam Middleton
Contestants on The Block NZ 2019 & 2022
Logan Dodds
"The Rinnai Q Series Heat pump has been an absolute life saver in this scorcher muggy summer we have been having. Since installed we have barely turned it off, quiet mode all through the night sleeping.
Looks sleek on the wall, extremely quiet & cools the rooms down in a matter of seconds on turbo mode. My only regret is not getting one installed last summer."
- Logan Dodds
Auckland
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