High-wall heat pumps for Hamilton homes
The one most people picture when they think of a heat pump, up near the ceiling. It's the cheapest to buy and fit, it warms a room fast, and it's what goes into most Hamilton homes.
A high-wall is the slim indoor head on the wall with an outdoor unit on the other side of it, and nothing heats a single room for less. It blows warm air downwards, and warm air wants to rise, so it works best in a well-sealed room where the air circulates. In a draughty villa with a high stud, a lot of that warmth never reaches you.
How much does a high-wall heat pump cost in Hamilton?
Supplied and fitted, a bedroom or small room runs about $2,200 to $3,000. A main living area is $3,000 to $4,500, and a large or open-plan space $4,200 to $6,000. That's roughly 2.5kW, 5 to 6kW and 7 to 8kW of capacity.
The price is the whole job: the unit, the brackets, the pipework, the drain, the electrical connection and the commissioning at the end.
What you actually pay comes down to the pipework between the two units. If the outdoor unit can sit on the other side of the wall from the indoor head, that's short and quick. Round a two-storey villa it's a different job, more pipe, more cable and a good deal more time on a ladder.
The sizing calculator will put a capacity and a price on your own room in a minute, and the cost page goes through what pushes a job up or down.
Is a high-wall right for an older Hamilton villa?
Sometimes not, and it's worth saying so. A high-wall sits up near the ceiling and pushes warm air downwards, and warm air wants to go back up, so in a room that's sealed and insulated it circulates nicely and in a draughty one with a high stud a good deal of it never reaches you.
That's the trouble with a lot of the timber villas and 1950s to 70s bungalows through Hamilton East and the central suburbs. Single glazing, high ceilings and gaps everywhere. A floor console sits low and pushes the warmth up from floor level instead, so you feel it sooner on a cold morning, and in those houses it's often the better call.
In the newer, better-sealed builds out at Rototuna, Flagstaff, Chartwell or Cambridge, a high-wall does the job for less money and there's no reason to spend more. Your installer should tell you which of those your house is.
Where a high-wall heat pump goes in the room
It wants a clear stretch of wall, up high, in the room you actually sit in of an evening, with the room opening out in front of it. Aim it at the couch or into a corner and it warms the air right around itself, reads that as the room being up to temperature, and backs off long before it is.
Outside, the unit needs air all round it, a level base or solid brackets, and a short way back to the indoor head. Somewhere a technician can actually get at it, too, because it needs a clean once a year and a spot behind a fence with no room to stand turns that into a bigger job than it should be.
Does a high-wall heat pump cool in summer?
It does, and in a Waikato summer that's half of why people fit one. A high-wall is reverse-cycle, which just means it can run the refrigerant the other way and move heat out of the house instead of into it.
It pulls moisture out while it cools, as well, which is what takes the muggy edge off a sticky afternoon rather than just dropping the temperature. The same dry mode earns its keep through winter, when a foggy valley-floor morning leaves the house damp as much as cold.
If cooling is the main reason you're buying, the air conditioning page covers the same gear from that angle.
One high-wall, or more than one?
A high-wall heats the room it's in and not much else. With the internal doors open it'll carry a compact house further than you'd think, but it won't turn a corner and it won't push heat down a hallway into the bedrooms.
If you want the bedrooms done too, a multi-split runs three or four indoor heads off one outdoor unit, so you keep a single box on the outside wall instead of a row of them. In a newer home with ceiling space, ducted hides the lot and heats every room evenly, at the top of the price range.
Still weighing it up? The types of heat pump page sets a high-wall against a floor console, a ceiling cassette, a multi-split and a ducted system, and heat pump installation covers how the day runs. When you want a number, get a free quote.
What would a high-wall heat pump cost at your place?
Tell us the room and your suburb, and your local installer will come back with a price. Call 07 242 0964 or send it through.
Common questions about high-wall heat pumps
How much does a high-wall heat pump cost in Hamilton?
Supplied and fitted, about $2,200 to $3,000 for a bedroom, $3,000 to $4,500 for a main living area and $4,200 to $6,000 for a large or open-plan space. The pipework between the indoor and outdoor units is what moves it within those.
Is a high-wall or a floor console better for an old villa?
In a single-glazed villa with a high stud, usually the floor console. It pushes warmth up from floor level where you feel it, rather than blowing it down into a room that's losing it through the gaps. In a sealed modern home the high-wall wins on price.
Will one unit heat the whole house?
It'll heat the room it's in, and with the doors open it reaches further than people expect, but it won't turn corners or push heat down a hallway. For bedrooms as well, a multi-split or a ducted system is the honest answer.
Does it need much looking after?
A rinse of the filters every few weeks through winter and a proper service once a year. Hamilton's fog and humidity clog filters faster than a drier climate, and a clogged filter means weak airflow, a bigger bill and a musty smell.
Get a high-wall heat pump priced for your room
You'll be put onto a local installer who'll tell you straight whether a high-wall suits your place or whether a floor console would serve you better. Call 07 242 0964 or send through your details for a free quote.