October 6, 20232 yr Sharing the info below to save anyone in the market for a heat pump from a lot of hassle if you are looking at ITS for a solution. This is a factual and honest review of my experience with ITS Heat Pumps and their installer. In early May 2023, I contacted ITS through their website, inquiring about the installation of a heat pump. I was promptly contacted and informed that ITS would refer me to one of their installation agents. Subsequently, Carl from Urban Blue Maintenance reached out to me and provided a quotation for the installation. Post-installation, the first issue I encountered was excessive noise emanating from the heat pump. Urban Blue addressed this by placing a rubber piece between the metal grate and the body of the heat pump. However, in early June, I observed a leak from the geyser. Upon a closer look, I discerned that the leak was originating from the pressure valve. Despite the clear connection to their work, both Urban Blue and ITS denied responsibility, attributing the issue to my geyser and not the recent heat pump installation. I sought the expertise of an independent plumber, who confirmed that the change in pressure due to the heat pump was the root cause. Further issues arose regarding the water temperature and water flow rate/pressure. My hot water system has been inconsistent since the installation of the ITS heat pump. I took the initiative to convey my concerns via a detailed email to the installer, urging a comprehensive review of the installation. Regrettably, up to the point of my email, no representative had ever been on-site for a post-installation check. What’s more disheartening is the complete lack of response to my concerns from both ITS and Urban Blue. The most recent debacle, however, was the most devastating. One morning, I awoke to find my house inundated with water. A pipe connecting the heat pump to my geyser had come loose due to substandard workmanship. The fallout? 150L of water severely damaging the ceilings in two bedrooms and the laminated flooring in three rooms. Despite this catastrophe, I've received neither a follow-up nor an apology from ITS or the installer. I strongly advise anyone in the market for a heat pump to steer clear of ITS and their associated installation agents.
October 6, 20232 yr 24 minutes ago, h4ns3n said: Sharing the info below to save anyone in the market for a heat pump from a lot of hassle if you are looking at ITS for a solution. This is a factual and honest review of my experience with ITS Heat Pumps and their installer. In early May 2023, I contacted ITS through their website, inquiring about the installation of a heat pump. I was promptly contacted and informed that ITS would refer me to one of their installation agents. Subsequently, Carl from Urban Blue Maintenance reached out to me and provided a quotation for the installation. Post-installation, the first issue I encountered was excessive noise emanating from the heat pump. Urban Blue addressed this by placing a rubber piece between the metal grate and the body of the heat pump. However, in early June, I observed a leak from the geyser. Upon a closer look, I discerned that the leak was originating from the pressure valve. Despite the clear connection to their work, both Urban Blue and ITS denied responsibility, attributing the issue to my geyser and not the recent heat pump installation. I sought the expertise of an independent plumber, who confirmed that the change in pressure due to the heat pump was the root cause. Further issues arose regarding the water temperature and water flow rate/pressure. My hot water system has been inconsistent since the installation of the ITS heat pump. I took the initiative to convey my concerns via a detailed email to the installer, urging a comprehensive review of the installation. Regrettably, up to the point of my email, no representative had ever been on-site for a post-installation check. What’s more disheartening is the complete lack of response to my concerns from both ITS and Urban Blue. The most recent debacle, however, was the most devastating. One morning, I awoke to find my house inundated with water. A pipe connecting the heat pump to my geyser had come loose due to substandard workmanship. The fallout? 150L of water severely damaging the ceilings in two bedrooms and the laminated flooring in three rooms. Despite this catastrophe, I've received neither a follow-up nor an apology from ITS or the installer. I strongly advise anyone in the market for a heat pump to steer clear of ITS and their associated installation agents. This is shocking. Totally the opposite of my dealings with ITS and yes I have mine for 12 yrs. Cannot be happier with the product. Only had dealing with a request for service once and their appointed plumber came out. This was within a few days as a setting was not correct. Since then I only needed support 5yrs ago for a pump replacement and I used a non appointed plumber for it. At a point after install I wanted a technical chat and their head office had an engineer available to answer any question and that impressed too. My 2c will be that the heat pump just circulates the water and cannot increase the pressure to a point that the pressure relief valve opens. Cannot comment about the pipe that came off from the connex fitting. This must be pressure related. Are you sure your system has a balanced system including the normal pressure regulator of 400kPa with air breakers?
October 9, 20232 yr Author On 2023/10/06 at 6:24 PM, Scorp007 said: My 2c will be that the heat pump just circulates the water and cannot increase the pressure to a point that the pressure relief valve opens. Cannot comment about the pipe that came off from the connex fitting. This must be pressure related. It doesn't really make sense, if the little bit I understand about how a heat pump works is right, then there should be nothing related to the heat pump installation that impacts my outlet water pressure. But the reality is the opposite. Before the heat pump was installed I had pretty high pressure coming out of my taps, now it's a pathetic weak flow and that has only been since the heat pump installation. I had a plumber check the entire system and the only thing they mentioned was the pressure release valve is 400kpa instead of 600kpa. On 2023/10/06 at 6:24 PM, Scorp007 said: Are you sure your system has a balanced system including the normal pressure regulator of 400kPa with air breakers? I have a Kwikot superline 600kpa geyser with a 400kpa pressure reducer valve, I assume it is installed correctly apart from the pressure reducer being lower than what the geyser is rated for.
October 9, 20232 yr Just FYI I am not a plumber My ITS is 13 years old. But I did a DIY install of both the geyser and heatpump (bought second hand just before covid hit). The heatpump is integrated with my smart home and hasn't missed a beat. It has already paid for itself many times over. Previous owner claimed it did not save him any significant amount of money but I am just amazed how efficient the system is (using 40-60kWh per month for all my hot water needs). The fact that you are not getting any pressure leads me to believe that the strainer used to filter particles from your water might be blocked. Or the "pressure reducer" might be blocked. Any geyser that has been running for a while will have limescale particles in the tank. The plumber probably fitted the heatpump as this was the requirement, but what needs to happen is maintenance to the existing geyser. To clean all strainers, and if there are excess particles blocking the system repeatedly you will have to flush the geyser before before reconnecting it to the heatpump. The plumber will probably argue that he got paid to fit the system, not perform maintenance on your existing geyser. I'm not here to pick sides, trying to find a solution to your problem. Edited October 9, 20232 yr by iiznh
October 9, 20232 yr 4 hours ago, h4ns3n said: It doesn't really make sense, if the little bit I understand about how a heat pump works is right, then there should be nothing related to the heat pump installation that impacts my outlet water pressure. But the reality is the opposite. Before the heat pump was installed I had pretty high pressure coming out of my taps, now it's a pathetic weak flow and that has only been since the heat pump installation. I had a plumber check the entire system and the only thing they mentioned was the pressure release valve is 400kpa instead of 600kpa. I have a Kwikot superline 600kpa geyser with a 400kpa pressure reducer valve, I assume it is installed correctly apart from the pressure reducer being lower than what the geyser is rated for. Somewhere there is a major problem. The incoming water pressure will be the same as the outgoing hot water. The heat pump only adds heat to the water by circulating the water. It has no affect on pressure. Even if you isolate the heat pump (electric) and close the in and out valves on the heat pump that is performs no function the pressure at the taps cannot change. Good that you have the needed regulator in place as each geyser should have. Edited October 9, 20232 yr by Scorp007
February 5, 20242 yr On 2023/10/09 at 8:09 AM, iiznh said: Just FYI I am not a plumber My ITS is 13 years old. But I did a DIY install of both the geyser and heatpump (bought second hand just before covid hit). The heatpump is integrated with my smart home and hasn't missed a beat. It has already paid for itself many times over. Previous owner claimed it did not save him any significant amount of money but I am just amazed how efficient the system is (using 40-60kWh per month for all my hot water needs). The fact that you are not getting any pressure leads me to believe that the strainer used to filter particles from your water might be blocked. Or the "pressure reducer" might be blocked. Any geyser that has been running for a while will have limescale particles in the tank. The plumber probably fitted the heatpump as this was the requirement, but what needs to happen is maintenance to the existing geyser. To clean all strainers, and if there are excess particles blocking the system repeatedly you will have to flush the geyser before before reconnecting it to the heatpump. The plumber will probably argue that he got paid to fit the system, not perform maintenance on your existing geyser. I'm not here to pick sides, trying to find a solution to your problem. Hi, how did you integrate your ITS heatpump into your smart home system ? I want to integrate mine into Home Assistant.
February 5, 20242 yr 1 hour ago, AndreFvdM said: Hi, how did you integrate your ITS heatpump into your smart home system ? I want to integrate mine into Home Assistant. I would solve the problem with a Sonoff POW R3 reflashed with tasmota. Set the heatpump controller to always be ON and control when it receives power using the Sonoff.
July 20, 20241 yr I stay next door to an installer my house is bombarded with 40 to 50 descibkes of fan noise that runs continuously for over 3 to 4 hrs at a time actually today we are on hour 6 of the fan making a noise. It's located less than a meter from my wall and I have raised my fence to try stop the noise.... that did not work. There is nothing environmentally friendly about these water heating pumps and if they run this long they have to be using more electricity than the manufacturers promote.
July 25, 20241 yr My ITS dates back to 2009 actual consumption on a 150 liter geyser: It does have a hum with the windows closed but the sound of traffic is much more noisy Heatpump started by my smart home on a schedule at 3:30AM in Pretoria (we are now just after the middle of winter) Today: Start Temp 19.5 to 53 = 2.139kWh in 2h03min Yesterday: Start Temp 31.5 to 53 = 1.545kWh in 1h30min Day before yesterday: Start Temp 24.3 to 53 = 1.946kWh in 1h55min It already paid for itself many times over
July 25, 20241 yr 13 hours ago, iiznh said: My ITS dates back to 2009 actual consumption on a 150 liter geyser: It does have a hum with the windows closed but the sound of traffic is much more noisy Heatpump started by my smart home on a schedule at 3:30AM in Pretoria (we are now just after the middle of winter) Today: Start Temp 19.5 to 53 = 2.139kWh in 2h03min Yesterday: Start Temp 31.5 to 53 = 1.545kWh in 1h30min Day before yesterday: Start Temp 24.3 to 53 = 1.946kWh in 1h55min It already paid for itself many times over My ITS 4.7kW has paid itself over about 4 times at real power cost. Also 13yrs old. Currently long past it's sell by date and working as it should. Measured values to reheat a 150L geyser. Long run times can only be for 2x150L or 1x200L or faulty unlagged installation where the geyser might be exceeding the recommended distance between pump and geyser. 6 July 32-54° 1725Wh 69min 12 May 35-55° 1005Wh 40min 1 May 31-56° 1625 Wh 65min 26 Aug '23 22-47° 1005 Wh 40min 12 Aug' 23 21-51° 2505Wh 100min The above is in Centurion. My pump is about 5m away from my pillow and I do some mornings hear it when it switches on at 3h30 but I sleep well with it running. As per your post far less of a problem than normal residential traffic after 06h30.
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