Locating heat-pump distributors, importers, sales in SA

[desA]

Thanks AndyD.

Spares backup is absolutely vital to the successful roll-out of heat-pumps. Depending on the quality of machine offered, the spares situation could become critical. A machine designed for a 10-15 year operating life, would typically work on around 1% spares holding for all units sold - this is a number based on experience with well-designed, robust RHVAC systems.

With some of the low-cost heat-pumps we see attempting to enter the SA market, the spares requirement may typically be a lot higher, with expected compressor lifetimes in the region of 2-3 years only. This is a critical factor to consider when purchasing heat-pumps. Also important is how long the heat-pump will be out of service should a component failure occur.

A decent supply chain should see the customer with minimal downtime & a solution provided within 24 hours of problem arising. The customer must not be inconvenienced & the backup service must manage this aspect carefully.

An additional question to our aspiring supplier:

How are units tested on arrival in SA, & before shipment to customer?

[mark0290325]

Pls contact with me. We are China heat pump factory. China famous brand. Msn: mark0290325@hotmail.com Skype:mark0290325

[desA]

Hi Mark,

Would you mind possibly answering the questions posed in the previous two pages?

[IanF]

Des
How is your side going have you started selling to small guys yet for their houses?
Also are you part of the Eskom rebate/subsidy programme?

[desA]

Hi IanF

Nano range of domestic hot-water heat-pumps
The Nano range of heat-pumps is now on sale in SA. Stock of the full range is being held at our stockist in Pinetown, KZN & we are developing a full product roll-out. A number of units are operating very successfully & we seem to have happy customers.

The Nano is designed as a high-end heat-pump, with a complete installation, service & backup in place. The philosophy is to present the customer a one-stop experience from a detailed assessment of their needs, through installation, onsite quality audit, service plans, spares backup & service capability. A cradle-to-grave approach, where we consider the customer to be king.

What is becoming clear in the current SA heat-pump scene is the following:
1. A number of unsafe technologies are currently being offloaded on the unsuspecting public (underfloor heaters posing as hot-water heat-pumps);
2. Some offering are incredibly dangerous & must be avoided (no sanitary grade condenser, excessive refrigerant pressures - explosion risk).

The reasons for points (1) & (2) above are mainly due to a lack of suitable local testing standards &/or understanding of the safety aspects required for a hot-water heat-pump. The Nano is designed & build to comply with AUS/NZ 60335 standards, which are a well-polished part of the international IEC 60335 testing standard.

Up to this point, there does not appear to be an SA version of this standard. When it is finally published, it would come under the name SANS 60335. We have pressed SABS/NRCS to provide details of where we can submit the Nano range to the SANS 60335 testing standard. Up until today, we have not yet received a reply, in spite of numerous follow-ups.

Eskom subsidy program
Without wanting to appear to bash the marketplace, it has to be said that this program is currently a disaster. The program supports heat-pumps many of which are extremely unsafe in design & which would most certainly never pass AUS/NZ 60335. Since no suitable SANS60335 testing standard is in place, what are essentially underfloor heating heat-pumps, are being imported from China & dumped into SA. Many of these designs are incredibly dangerous, & in some cases, will lead to geyser explosions within the next few years - most have inappropriate refrigerant selections.

The Eskom program seems to have been initially rolled out in a huge rush, & contained an kick-off set of suppliers, most of whom obtain their stock from around 3 Chinese manufacturers.

With the Nano, the process we followed with Eskom was to apply through all the correct channels, submit all the correct paperwork & press to move into their program, but along the correct procedural pathway. The outcome has been amazing, with paperwork going round in multiple circles & exposing what can simply be called "a non-system". The whole program is an unmitigated disaster. It appears that due to high-level approaches from the solar & insurance industry, that the Eskom rebate program may soon die a quiet death - in its current form. As it stands, suppliers are not sure of whether the subsidy will even be in place in December.

So, to answer your question - "Also are you part of the Eskom rebate/subsidy programme?"
Not at present.
We offer a product discount equivalent to the Eskom subsidy with all purchases of the Nano heat-pump.

[IanF]

Des
That sounds good, do you operate in Johannesburg yet

[desA]

Des
That sounds good, do you operate in Johannesburg yet

Thanks, IanF.

We are in the process of rolling out in Jhb & are presently training reliable installation teams.

If you'd like to forward your contact details per PM, I'll have our team contact you to set up a site visit, so that we can determine the best solution for your hot-water heating needs.

Application notes:
I've found that it is vitally important to assess your particular installation properly, in order to provide an appropriate hot-water heating solution. We have some applications, for instance, where a single heat-pump feeds a central geyser, which then pre-feeds satellite geysers. These installations have to be properly evaluated & the correct size heat-pump installed. In other single-geyser applications, the heat-pump sizing is straightforward.

Selection of the correct geyser/heat-pump connection scheme is absolutely essential to successful operation of the complete system. It's no use having a good heat-pump, but having coupled incorrectly to/from the geyser. In many cases, the customer ends up with a geyser half full of cold water; in some the geyser contents mixes with incoming cold water, leading to luke-warm water; in others, incorrect installation can multi-cycle the heat-pump on/off leading to premature compressor failure & high electrical consumption. We have also seen installations where the water supply from the geyser pulses hot/cold when the heat-pump runs. There are appropriate technologies to prevent these installation failures. We believe that this is our strong point.

So the project has to be properly managed from the outset, in order to achieve a cost-effective, reliable solution for the customer.

[seaice]

Factory produce 65C hot water heat pump (small capacity to large capacity, R134a system). If you are interested in it, please feel free to contact me.

We also have other HVAC products, normal air/water heat pump, AHU, and fan coil units.

[coris]

I thought I could help you, but we are doing the different products, I am doing the promotion products!