Townhouses, apartments and the long pipe run
In a stand-alone house the installer can usually pick a wall with the room on one side and a clear patch of ground on the other. In a three-level townhouse the bedroom that needs heat may be at the top while the only spot for the outdoor unit is a courtyard at the bottom. Every extra metre of pipe, every extra bend and every hole through cladding adds labour and materials.
Apartments bring their own extra steps. Most body corporates want to approve where an outdoor unit goes, how the pipes are hidden and who does the work. Ask for those rules before you call installers, so each one quotes for the same job. Some buildings only allow units on a balcony or a roof, and a roof install may need extra access gear.
Many Auckland villas and bungalows still have an old switchboard. If there is no spare room on it, or it uses old fuses, the electrician may need to upgrade it before the heat pump can be connected. That work sits outside the table, so ask for it to be priced on its own line.
Pricing a heater for an Auckland rental
If you own a rental, the healthy homes heating standard sets the minimum. Tenancy Services requires one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room. Each heater must be at least 1.5 kW, and a heat pump must have a thermostat. The capacity the room needs can be worked out with the Heating Assessment Tool, the formula in the regulations or a professional assessment.
Run the tool before you ask for quotes. It stops you paying for a bigger unit than the lounge needs, or buying one that falls short. Our guide on what size heat pump you need uses the same idea of matching output to the room.
How 275 Auckland installers compare
Auckland has the biggest pool of installers in the country, which helps when you want three quotes. Of the 275 firms we track in the city, 89 fit ducted systems and 56 fit multi-split systems, where one outdoor unit runs several indoor units. If you are weighing those options, our guide to ducted vs high-wall heat pumps sets out the trade-offs.
After-sales work is common too: 132 offer servicing and 88 take on repairs. 141 offer a free quote, and 22 offer finance, which spreads the cost but usually adds interest, so read the terms before you sign.
With so many firms, the spread of prices for the same job can be wide. A quote well below the others may leave out access, removal of an old unit or switchboard work, so check what each one covers before you decide on price alone.
Only 8 of the Auckland installers mention Warmer Kiwi Homes. It is a national EECA programme, and its grants can cover part of the cost of a heat pump for eligible owners. EECA's own records match each grant to a household's Community Services Card or SuperGold Combo card and to how deprived its area is, so check eligibility on EECA's website first. Our heat pump grants guide has more.
Getting a quote you can hold an Auckland installer to
A fair quote in a big city names the exact model, the length of pipe allowed for and what happens if the run turns out longer. Have the installer visit rather than quote from photos, as access is where most Auckland surprises hide.
- Ask whether parking, scaffolding or a roof install is included.
- Ask for any switchboard work as a separate line.
- Get the body corporate's written approval before you book.
- Compare quotes for the same kW size, not just the price.
- Check our heat pump cost guide to see what a standard job includes.
Compare every installer on the Auckland page, or read 10 Best Heat Pump Installers in Auckland.