Heat pump servicing in Auckland is a yearly job, and skipping it costs more than the service does. These answers come from Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company, a registered electrician and electrical inspector whose team services heat pumps across Auckland.
The Conduction Company recommends servicing a heat pump once a year, alternating a basic clean with a comprehensive check. Skip it and dust clogs the coil, power use climbs, drains block, and mould can grow inside. Jordan Statham has seen neglected heat pumps fail years early.
What actually goes wrong with a heat pump that is never serviced?
It loses efficiency first, then years of life, The Conduction Company finds. The filters catch the larger dust, and most owners can clean those. Finer dust gets past them and settles on the fins of the indoor coil. Over time it blocks them, and the fan struggles to pull air through. The heat is still being made, but it takes far more effort to get it into the room. You get less heat and a higher power bill.
A heat pump is a machine with moving parts, and it wears out faster when nobody looks after it. "We've seen units that would have lasted fifteen or so years only last maybe six or seven, just because they haven't been serviced, haven't been cleaned out regularly, the pressures haven't been tested," says Jordan Statham, director of The Conduction Company.
The drain matters too. The indoor unit drains away the water it collects when cooling, and The Conduction Company has seen blocked drains let water into walls.
What is the dirtiest heat pump The Conduction Company has opened up?
One unit the team opened was jet black with mould, in every crevice of the machine. Mould on its own does not usually end a heat pump, and The Conduction Company can generally deep clean even a bad case. This one was old, out of warranty and near the end of its life, so the team replaced the whole unit. Mould specialists had to come in and remove the mould from the wall behind the indoor unit as well.
This is how it starts. When a heat pump cools, the indoor coil gets cold and collects condensation, which drains into a tray below it. If dust has built up on the coil, fan or tray, mould and bacteria grow on those damp surfaces. Leave it unserviced for years and it can get filthy.
How do I know if my heat pump is overdue for a service?
If it has gone more than a year, it is overdue: The Conduction Company recommends a service every year as the minimum. The signs are less heat or cooling than it used to give, a smell when it runs, dust on the unit, or plants growing into the outdoor unit. "That one's a big giveaway," Jordan Statham says of the smell. Any of these means it should be fully serviced.
Will you service a heat pump another company installed?
Yes. The Conduction Company services heat pumps that other companies installed, using the same servicing process it uses on its own installs. "Yeah, absolutely. We do it all the time," says Jordan Statham. If a unit turns out to be past saving, The Conduction Company also handles heat pump supply and installation in Auckland.
What does servicing a ducted heat pump involve that a wall unit does not?
Ducting checks, mainly. On a ducted system The Conduction Company checks the ducting in the ceiling space for wear. The joints, where the ducting is taped and tied onto spigots, can work loose with vibration over the years. The team checks the system is fully sealed and the joints are tight, so it is not losing air pressure. The rest is the same service as a high wall unit, done in the ceiling instead of on the wall, and the team focuses on cleaning or replacing the return air filters.
What makes one heat pump service cost more than another?
How long it has been since the last service, and how dirty the unit is, in The Conduction Company's experience. There are two levels of service, and a third option for the worst cases.
Basic service. A clean and a check that the unit is running at its best: the condensate drain swept, the fins cleared and disinfected inside and out, and the filters cleaned.
Comprehensive service. Everything in the basic service, plus refrigerant pressures, electrical testing, airflow and how well the drain flows. The Conduction Company recommends this one if it has been more than a couple of years since the last service.
Deep clean. For a unit with a lot of mould or build-up. The team pumps the refrigerant back into the outdoor unit, a step called a pump down, takes the indoor unit off the wall, and a technician deep cleans it outside with a controlled, low-pressure wash. That is not the water blaster the coastal section below warns owners off: the technician controls the pressure to suit the fins. A deep clean costs significantly more than a service and is quoted on the unit.
Servicing covers a working unit. If a unit needs a repair instead, The Conduction Company quotes that separately.
We quote on facts, not guesses
Before we give you a price, we carry out a proper assessment of your property and how you'll use your heat pump. That way you know exactly what you're buying and the total cost, with no surprises. Clear expectations from the outset, start to finish.
The estimates below are for a standard heat pump service. The Conduction Company confirms final pricing after a property assessment.
The Conduction Company's servicing-plan prices per unit, including GST, from its price book on 20 October 2026:
High wall heat pump, basic service. $250.90 including GST.
High wall heat pump, comprehensive service. $309.90 including GST.
Ducted system, basic service. $329.90 including GST.
Ducted system, comprehensive service. $417.90 including GST.
The Conduction Company's maintenance and servicing team books either service and keeps your heat pump on a yearly schedule.
Does a service make a noticeable difference to heating or the power bill?
On a badly neglected unit, yes, The Conduction Company finds. US Department of Energy figures put the gap between a well-maintained heat pump and a severely neglected one at 10 to 25 percent of its energy use.
On The Conduction Company's worked example, a 4.5 kW unit drawing 1.25 kW for eight hours a day costs about $124 a month in winter, including GST. That uses Consumer NZ's figure for the draw and MBIE's Auckland Central price of 41.30 cents per kWh, including GST. A 25 percent penalty on that bill is about $31 a month, including GST.
That is the case Jordan Statham means when he says servicing a unit "in a really bad state" can save tens of dollars a month, per machine. On a normally kept unit the saving is smaller. Consumer NZ puts cleaning the filters at up to $50 a year in running costs.
Why is my bill so high with a heat pump?
A dirty unit is one cause, but rarely the biggest, The Conduction Company finds. More often the unit is too small for the room and runs flat out for hours, or the house does not hold its heat. The Conduction Company's guide to whether heat pumps are worth it in NZ covers sizing and insulation in full.
Is cleaning a heat pump a job you can do yourself?
Partly. The Conduction Company says the filters are yours to clean, and the inside of the unit is a professional job.
Consumer NZ tells owners they can "do your own clean and check in less than 10 minutes", and that "you can still call the pros every few years for a servicing". On the filters, The Conduction Company agrees. What an owner cannot reach is the indoor coil, the fan and the drain tray, which is where the mould case above started. The makers' own manuals, from Daikin to Fujitsu, say cleaning inside the indoor unit is a job for a professional, and refrigerant and electrical checks need one too.
For the filters, turn the unit off on the remote, wash them in warm soapy water, and check your model's manual. The Conduction Company's two-minute video on cleaning heat pump filters walks through it. EECA suggests a clean once a month during winter.
Does a coastal or dusty home need servicing more than once a year?
No. The Conduction Company still recommends one professional service a year for coastal and dusty homes. What changes is the cleaning you do between services.
Dusty homes. Clean the filters every month, rather than every quarter.
Coastal homes. Wash the outdoor unit every quarter to keep salt off the fins and casing. "Salt in the air can accelerate corrosion over time," says Mitsubishi Electric New Zealand.
To wash it, turn the heat pump off at its isolating switch first, and keep water away from the electrical connections. Apply a basic car-wash solution to the casing and fins with a very soft brush. Go gently, because the fins bend easily. Then rinse it off lightly with a hose. Never use a water blaster or pressure washer: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries warns it can damage the aluminium fins. Check your model's manual first, because some makers advise against detergent.
When in the year is the best time to book a heat pump service?
There is no best time, realistically. The Conduction Company books servicing once a year from the date the heat pump was installed.
The one exception is a smell at the change of season. In cooling mode the indoor coil collects condensation, and mould and bacteria can grow on a dusty coil, fan or tray. When you switch to heating the coil runs hot and stops making water, but the warm air carries the smell into the room. If that happens, get in touch with The Conduction Company. The team brings your service forward to get rid of the smell, then books the next one for the same time the following year.
Do heat pump warranties depend on regular servicing?
Some do, in writing. When The Conduction Company checked the New Zealand warranty terms of eight heat pump brands, every one made regular maintenance the owner's responsibility. Most recommend a professional service every year, and some write it into the warranty. Gree's New Zealand warranty card says the warranty is void if "regular maintenance is not carried out at intervals not exceeding 12 months by a qualified Refrigeration and Air Conditioning tradesperson".
Keep your service records. Gree's card says its repairer will ask to see them, and Mitsubishi Electric says "maintenance records may be requested as part of any warranty assessment".
Where claims get hard, in Jordan Statham's experience, is a machine neglected for years. "We've had warranty claims for air conditioners where the external unit has been totally overgrown with weeds, and have vines growing through the fins," he says. A failure caused by neglect like that is not a fault in the machine, so cover may not be granted.
Separately from the maker's warranty, the Consumer Guarantees Act expects a heat pump to last a reasonable time. A missed service does not cancel those rights on its own. If a failure was caused by neglect, or by not following the maker's instructions, the Act may not help you either.
Should a landlord service tenants' heat pumps every year?
Yes, The Conduction Company recommends it, though no rule sets a servicing interval. "Some tenants are excellent at keeping on top of home maintenance, others, not so much," says Jordan Statham. A yearly service keeps wear to a minimum, extends the unit's life, and heads off expensive repair callouts.
The law asks for the heat pump to be kept in good working order. Tenancy Services says a tenant must clean an accessible device and its filters, and keep gardens clear of the outdoor unit. Where technical knowledge or tools are needed, it says the landlord is generally required to maintain the device, including cleaning. An annual service is how The Conduction Company recommends landlords meet that. The same applies to a rental's ventilation, which The Conduction Company covers in its guide to servicing a home ventilation system.
Which heat pump brands need servicing most, or are hardest to service?
Lesser-known brands and older models, in The Conduction Company's experience. The big brands design their machines with installers and service technicians in mind, so they are straightforward to service. On uncommon brands and older units, getting the covers off to reach the fins can be extraordinarily difficult, especially once the covers have gone brittle with age. The Conduction Company's technicians have worked on the vast majority of models, and it is rare to find one the team cannot get into.
In short
A heat pump needs a professional service once a year, with filter cleaning by you in between. Skip it and the unit gives less heat, uses more power, risks a blocked drain and mould, and can wear out years early. The Conduction Company bases that on what its team finds servicing Auckland heat pumps, including ones other companies installed. Some warranties, Gree's for one, also require the yearly service in writing, so keep your records.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a heat pump be serviced?
Once a year, The Conduction Company recommends, alternating a basic service with a comprehensive one. Clean the filters yourself in between: every month in a dusty home, and at least every change of season otherwise.
How much power does a heat pump use?
Consumer NZ lists a 4.5 kW heat pump at 1,250 to 1,800 watts while it runs. A unit with clogged filters and fins uses more for the same heat, which is why The Conduction Company services heat pumps every year.
Does a ducted heat pump filter need replacement?
It is cleaned or replaced at each service. On a ducted system The Conduction Company focuses on the return air filters, and also checks the ducting joints are sealed so the system is not losing air pressure.
How long does a heat pump last without servicing?
Jordan Statham of The Conduction Company has seen neglected units that should have lasted about 15 years fail at six or seven. With regular servicing, the team has seen units run up to 20 years.
Why does my heat pump smell when I switch to heating?
Usually mould or bacteria on a dirty coil, fan or drain tray, which grew in the damp left by cooling. The warm air carries the smell into the room. The Conduction Company brings the service forward to clean it out.
Do I need to keep proof of heat pump servicing?
Yes, The Conduction Company recommends it. Gree's warranty card says its repairer will ask to see maintenance records, and Mitsubishi Electric says records may be requested as part of a warranty assessment.
