Istore heat pumps

iStore – Air to Energy systems utilise the latest compressor technology to naturally extract heat energy from the air and store it in the form of hot water for later use. Designed in Australia for Australian conditions, the iStore is one of the most cost-effective dual-purpose storage solutions available.

For Australian households and businesses, the heating of hot water is the largest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs. The iStore runs at an incredible 400% efficiency, and when synced with Solar Roof Solar Power, the hot water heating costs can be as low as 11 cents per day

Of course – the iStore is not reliant on the sun shining. Extracting energy from the surrounding air, the iStore will provide reliable hot water day and night, all year round.

The team behind iStore invested over 10,000 man hours ensuring the compressor would be as quiet as possible, without sacrificing efficiency. The iStore has been independently tested to 46.6dB at 1m. It’s an amazing achievement and we’re proud to say we have one of the quietest systems available on the market.

By installing an iStore, you can save up to $1500 per year.

The best return on investment can be under 2 years when factoring in the replacement / purchase cost of a traditional hot water system.

The most common installation location is on the ground, located outside the home. Custom solutions for tight / elevated areas can be designed, however please contact an iStore specialist to discuss your needs.

Yes – the iStore can in fact be installed indoors as the refrigerant used is non-flammable and safe to be installed indoors. Provision for adequate fresh air to unit location shall be provided. Contact iStore to discuss your site-specific needs.

Yes – the iStore is an ideal replacement for existing gas or electric hot water systems. In fact, installing an iStore when replacing existing hot water systems takes about the same time as installing a traditional gas or electric hot water system.

iStore recommends that a 5 year service be conducted to ensure the system is working at maximum efficiency.

The iStore utilises refrigeration technology which is an incredibly efficient form of producing heating capacity since the first refrigerant gas was developed way back in 1928. The process is very similar to pumping up a bicycle tyre with a hand held pump; the more compression and pressure when using a bicycle tyre pump, the hotter the pump gets. This is essentially the same process as the iStore’s Hitachi compressor in action – creating heat from compression and transferring the thermal energy around the tank to heat the water inside the fully insulated cylinder.

No – Fully customisable, the iStore incorporates 4 modes to suit every hot water application. From small households to large hot water demands, one iStore can produce over 2,500 litres of hot water in a 24hr period.

Compared to conventional gas and electric resistive hot water systems, the iStore surpasses the latest Australian Standards for safety. With an incredibly low power draw when in operation (less than a household kettle), the iStore seamlessly integrates with existing electrical infrastructure in any Australian home or business.

Of course – checking with your insurance company is the first port of call. iStore recommends that your insurance company is notified and listed on your policy. We also suggest to check whether you have fusion protection in case of power surges.

Installing an iStore is the equivalent of removing 4 tonnes worth of CO2 every year!

Yes.
Depending on your residing state in Australia,
customers replacing existing traditional hot water systems may be eligible for $800 to
$3000 off their system cost!

The 270L all-in-one iStore will require approximately 0.7m in width x 2.1m height.

Typically, an installation of the iStore will take between 2-3 hours to complete. In almost all installation scenarios you will have hot water again the same evening of installation.

Yes – the iStore is very easy to maintain. After your iStore is installed and commissioned, maintenance required is very minimal.

Can’t find the answers you were looking for? Our staff are always happy to help. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team today.

iStore has installed over 20,000 hot water systems in the last 10 years alone. iStore has strived to improve its products and in doing so has developed leading products in the heat pump hot water system market overtaking other larger players in the industry.

The iStore journey has been a long and considered one starting over 10 years ago when design started to produce a unit that could meet Australian demands. Iterative changes have been applied steadily but the core design has proven itself sound from the start.

The iStore needed to be cost-effective for the consumer with as short a payback as possible, it must be quick and easy to install to gain industry acceptance and reduce costs, it must be reliable, and of course, be flexible enough to deliver hot water as required at the lowest possible running cost.

The iStore performance meets and exceeds a significant number of much higher-priced units on the market today.

Detailed performance of compressor technologies is somewhat closely guarded by manufacturers and as such only certain statistics are available. Chart 1 details the iStore against 3 of the major competitors who chose to list the highest possible COP measured by AS/NZS 5125 of 30-35 degrees ambient. Here it can be seen that the iStore performs very well in this scenario and in fact outperforms those equivalent units.

Chart 2 details a possibly more realistic COP value where the units performance is calculated against the rising water temperature and the average ambient temperature across the full seasons of the year. Once again, the iStore outperforms a well-respected international brand when measured in this manner.

Vitreous Enamel Lined Tank– tried and proven for longevity in Australia against harsh water. iStore and other leading Australian brands have utilised this technology for over 50 years with iStore utilizing the same quality manufacturer for over 10 years on heat pump hot water systems. Stainless steel tanks, although touted as the preferred material, are now suffering from weld failures due to tightening of the chemical leaching regulations.

External Coil Wrap – no contact between the water and the heating components reduces the risk of electrolysis and corrosion.

CFC Free R134a compressor gas – Currently the most cost-effective balance between the environment, reliability, serviceability, and efficiency.

Highly (Hitachi China joint venture) Compressor – extremely efficient quality compressor at excellent price point whilst quiet in operation. Electrical requirements average 1Kw/h draw for the 270L.

Smart controls – Onboard PCB utilises Electronic Expansion control Valve(EEV) to accurately adjust the heating function to match the ambient temperature, water temperature, and heating capacity available. The PCB also has 8 individual sensors to ensure maximum heating under varying conditions. Inbuilt frost control makes sure the units protected and that operation is not interrupted in cold and humid situations.

iStore considered many factors when developing the iStore Heat Pump design, detailed here is a short overview of those factors.

All in one unit – the iStore is a completely integrated unit where the compressor and tank are contained within one freestanding hot water system. This design reduces the footprint of the system, requires less time and cost to install the product, and guarantees consistent and reliable operation.

Refrigeration choice – the iStore uses the most cost effective refrigerant on the market today, R134a.

Whilst non Ozone Depleting, this refrigerant as we have seen:-

1. delivers excellent performance
2. economical to service
3. onsite serviceable – utilises a maximum pressure of 2,100kPa, that’s 5 times less than some competitors highly stressed systems
4. expertise readily available in all locations
5. available at all gas agents

Vitreous enamel tank – this is a tried and proven technology and iStore chose its long-term supplier to provide the iStore tank, the manufacturer produces over 600,000 tanks per annum from a state-of-the-art facility utilizing robot welding, robot coating and inspection.

Scroll compressor – the Highly (Hitachi joint venture) compressor is a quiet and powerful unit utilising the very efficient scroll compressor configuration typically difficult to manufacture precisely but the design and manufacturing expertise from Japan comes to the fore in this unit.

External coil wrap – utilising a wrap on the outside of the tank reduces the potential corrosion caused by stray current to zero, considerations of water contamination and electrical shielding are not required. The iStore uses tightly wrapped aluminium heating tubes that are wrapped to form a flat internal surface on the tube to further increase the heat transfer rate.

Multi-Mode programming – the iStore can be configured to suit the requirements of houses from as little as 1 person up to virtually unlimited at a maximum of 2500 litres per day.

Unlike many well-known traditional models with no consumer configuration capability still being sold, the iStore has consumer selectable temperature control, heating speeds, heating times (to suit PV generation), and manual override at any time of unexpected excessive demand.