Heatpump makers in advertising spat
"Am with you on truth in advertising... "
Featured commentThe Advertising Standards Authority has ruled ads for Mitsubishi Electric heatpumps were misleading after its competitor Fuljitsu complained.
Fujitsu argued Mitsubishi Electric billboard, print and radio ads were misleading by claiming their heatpumps were "known to heat more effectively and quietly than any other heat pump in New Zealand".
The complaint says Black Diamond Technologies, which imports Mitsubishi heatpumps, bent the truth when referring to quietness by not including the outdoor element of the heatpump, which is louder than the indoor part.
It also says BDT's claim was based on just two "hi-wall heat pump" models, when there are many different types of heatpumps which produce varying amounts of noise.
The complaints board said BDT's claims were absolute, and had "not been substantiated".
"Such robust claims were likely to mislead the consumer and was also likely to exploit their lack of knowledge."
The lack of substantiation meant the ads were "likely to mislead the consumer as to the operation of the heat pump", the board said.
It also said BDT did not properly explain that its quietness claim related to just two models operating at their lowest levels.
The complaints board, whose chairwoman is Jenny Robson, upheld the complaint.
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Comments and questions15
Good on Fujitsu for pursuing this matter against Mitsubishi. I have no brand loyalty to either but they are still a chunk of dollars and we are getting to the point where several of these pumps are now needed as an essential home appliance in most kiwi homes, if only due to the high cost of electricity. NZ is too small to have a good consumer advocate unfortunately so when 2x big boys go head to head the consumer wins.
In correction to the article the "Decision" shows that Mitsubishi Electric had the quitest two high wall models across ALL fan speeds (not just in the quietest modes) and the majority of quietest modes across the whole range - being 25 from 28 possible fan speeds. The problem was that BDT did not clearly reference this. BDT considered the outdoor unit irrelevant as they had a pic of the indoor in two of the three commercials.
I congratulate Fujitsu - we all want truth in advertising.
Am with you on truth in advertising, Sylvia. Any thoughts on what ASA might think of HRV's claim to warm homes by pumping the air from the garage roof?
Ours works like that - north facing roof and south facing living areas means the house was quite cold -regardless of weather. But now the warm air from the north facing roof gets pushed into the south facing living room and its pretty toasty. But only when the sun shines.
Its illegal in North America to ventilate a living area of your house from an enclosed space like your attic. Pretty toxic environment up there, best check or upgrade your filter because the cheap bags they put on here in NZ wont remove pathogens.
Possibly relevant for the "sealed" style houses in the USA. But breathing houses like our old villa would have a pretty reasonable number of air changes that stops toxins from building up.
Never did like the sealed house system for this reason.
Our HRV works a treat - brings in warm air that gets warmed more by the heatpump then distributes throughout the house by virtue of 'pressurising' the room the heat pump is in. Good combo.
Just goes to show you can't say "quietest ever" or "more efficient than any other" when you're not. Shame on you Mitsubishi for misleading people into spending their hard earned cash on something they think they're getting but in fact aren't. Just as well I didn't buy one. I would have been duped like many other people.
Heat pumps of all brands are the biggest "con" ever, and the profits associated with them are massive believe me, Wood burners leave them far far behind, wake up people wood burners are far superior, don't get conned into anything else.
yeah those wood burners are just so efficient ..... not.
I have 1 of each in my home, the modern wood burner is so far superior!! the heat pump is a distant 2nd eficient or not, the heat difference is astounding, 2 cubic mtrs {chord} of firewood $440 still plenty left, just a bit of effort involved which the modern male is alergic to, the heat pump has increased my power bill by about $125-150 per mth, by comparison, the heat pump you have to close the room up to heat it up, with the woodburner you have to open it up as you cook, it heats the whole house, with the modern male it all comes down to facts and figures on a piece of paper, with us older males 60+ it comes down to the hands on and actual use and performance of the 2, the wood burner is far superior, go and do it and try it rather than just argue the point.
Also they can release poisonous particles into the neighbourhood, the whole winter period if often spent with large communities covered in thick smoke. This is old technology and has no place in a modern society. I say get a heat pump and stop polluting your neighbourhood!
New Tui Bill board, "Mitsubishi have the quietest heat pumps" YEAH RIGHT !
I love my Mitsubishi Hyper Core, wall mounted. It is not as quiet as my mother-in-laws floor model from another company to be sure (at the lowest speed). But it works in very cold weather which is more important to me. It also does heat the rest of the house - it just needs to be in the right place to flow into the hall and into the other rooms. Our adviser made a point of checking if it could heat the rest of the house based on position, and house lay out. Plus we got the biggest on the market.