This ONE THING was the reason a homeowner chose Daikin over other heat pump manufacturers
So the clickbait title has worked again.
You're here to find out what it is, that Daikin has done to stand out as first choice to this particular customer....
Performance? Cost? Looks? Noise? Carbon? User Experience?
All of these factors are important - some more so than others depending upon the customer - so which one cinched the deal with this particular customer?
INTRODUCTIONS
Let me start by introducing you to the homeowner; Julian Clarke .
I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Julian last year, as part of a Meshwork by Mesh Energy sustainability networking webinar.
Julian shared his story about the challenge of retrofitting his house and his journey into the heat pump world.
Julian is an very intelligent chap, but not someone who works with heat pumps or in the heating industry, so this was going to be a new experience for him.
It's fair to say that Julian was keen to 'do his bit' for the planet, he wanted to make his house as environmentally friendly as possible, and he was going to take his time researching all the ways in which he could do this.
RESEARCH * PUBLIC AWARENESS
Julian may not have known that heating our homes accounts for about 15% of UK Greenhouse gas emissions.
And Julian may not have known that in the UK we install 1.7million gas boilers every year.
But he did know he wanted to ditch gas, and move to an energy-efficient, low-carbon way of heating his home and generating hot water.
He'd heard a lot about heat pumps recently in the news and wanted to find out more.
Unfortunately this is where Julian encountered his first problem.
Currently there are about 280,000 heat pumps installed in the UK.
That's about 412 heat pumps per 100,000 people!
With such a low percentage of market penetration, and such high volumes of heat pumps that need to be installed to help on the net zero journey - never has there been a greater need for peer-to-peer learning, consumer confidence and information to accelerate the transition.
There are various trusted comparison sites available for boilers, but there was very little information from independent sources on heat pumps.
(Fortunately, in the last 12 months there has been an insurgence of information, guides and various resources for homeowners asking these exact questions by the likes of the Government, Energy Saving Trust, and the Renewable Energy Hub to site a few).
After doing some market research, Julian had come up with a list of manufacturers who seemed to be credible and trusted.
The next step would be to speak with an expert who could give their opinion on the best/ most suitable brand and what works would need to happen on his house to make it heat pump ready.
Installation, Installation, Installation...
According to Julian, several installers said that either his house just wasn't appropriate for a heat pump (based on size and age of property), or, he could have a heat pump but he would need to take out all of his radiators and put in BIG new ones.
Surely that's not right?
Julian tried again and this time struck gold.
Welcome Emilie Romain & Martin Perrin of Ecobubl Ltd .
The expert team at Ecobubl assessed Julians property, and concluded that with correct design and the right heat pump, they could go retain his existing radiators (utilising a buffer for hydraulic separation).
Because they were keeping the existing radiators and pipework, a 'high-temp' heat pump was going to be the right solution for Julian's property.
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EcoBubl are a partner of Daikin UK and are a Sustainable Home Centre based in the South West of England - making up our expert installer network (Sustainable Homes Network).
An Overall Package
Performance? Cost? Looks? Noise? Carbon? User Experience?
For Julian, the Daikin heat pump ticked all of these boxes.
High temperatures, stylish and quiet! What's not to love?
As an overall package, in partnership with EcoBubl, the Daikin Altherma 3 H HT was the right solution.
If you clicked this article based on the title hoping to find out some big hidden industry secret I'm afraid you may be disappointed.
That being said...
Service makes all the difference in the world.
When speaking with Julian, he said that the thing that stuck out most for him when comparing the different brands and models was that Daikin offered a long-term service contract at a fixed cost!
Changing your heating system for a new technology can be quite daunting.
There are various business models and market mechanisms that now exist (from installers and contractors, to energy companies and banks) to help with the upfront and ongoing costs of heat pumps, but for Julian, the fact that Daikin were able to offer a long term service contract at a fixed cost - that was the thing that sealed the deal.
So with a long-term service contract with Daikin UK coupled with excellent upfront customer service from EcoBubl - Julian had his cake and was able to eat it.
I am sure there may be other manufacturers that offer a similar service package, and with growing public awareness and consumer demand for information, now is the time to collaborate, share ideas and promote good practice - we have a cost of living crisis, an energy crisis (the list really goes on) - and our technology really is pathing the way to a clean transition to a zero carbon future.
Hot Take
In this particular instance, the wonderful Daikin Altherma 3H High Temp was installed; the result likely would not have been same if it wasn't for EcoBubl. If we are truly going to succeed as an industry, we must collaborate, to help upskill our whole workforce (manufacturers, designers, installers) to safeguard customers -in order to avoid some of the pitfalls and negative experiences that customers may have had in the past, be it with heat pumps or boilers.
If you would like to learn more about Julians project carried out by Ecobubl Ltd , you can see a full YouTube video below - they highlight the need for a full heat loss calculation, proper heating system design (including wiring and piping schematics) and even integrate the system with a smart, hot water tank by Mixergy Ltd to maximise the efficiency of this whole solution.
Thank you to Julian for sharing his story with me, and to the team at Ecobubl for being amazing ambassadors and bringing pride to our technology (and for producing this excellent video!)
Hi, I’m Ryan; I work with clients to help them understand the importance and meaning behind decarbonisation and electrification; whilst offering practical advice on the solutions available, capital and operational costs, best practice for design and installation and the possible next steps should they want to explore sustainability in a more holistic approach.
Below are a few of my previous posts that you may enjoy.
Great article Ryan P.!
Copy and content writer for health, wellbeing, and sustainability brands ✌️
1yA great read. Lovely to see the improvement in your writing Ryan 😍 (Especially since it’s on a topic that’s so important!)
Can't argue with your description of Julian Ryan P.. He was a fantastic guest speaker (as were you!). We have a webinar following on topic theme of changing boilers with Jo Alsop and Nathan Gambling next Tuesday.
ESG and Innovation Consultant at Energylab | Certified B Corp
1yYou write to well Ryan P.. We're really lucky to have you on our team.
Thank you Ryan for the excellent article. Two points: I’m not sure I’m that intelligent, but good at asking dumb questions, learning & the next time asking a better question to get to the best answer. And secondly I exchanged an oil boiler for an ASHP. Where I am in rural Worcestershire, we are not on the gas grid. Means the CO2 reduction is even better! As I write this, it is -6C outside, we are warm inside with an annualised efficiency of 380%. Any further questions please ask.