What a heat pump is — in one minute
You already own half of one. Your aircon takes heat out of a room and dumps it outside. A heat pump does the same thing, backwards: it takes heat out of the outside air and puts it into your water. Same machine. Different direction.
That changes what you pay, because the fuel is not electricity. The fuel is air. The air around your building holds an enormous amount of free heat — the heat pump just collects it. You pay a small electricity bill to run the pump. You pay nothing for the air.
The whole pitch in two lines: an electric heater uses ₱1 of electricity to make ₱1 of heat. A heat pump uses ₱1 of electricity to move about ₱4 of heat. Three of those pesos come free, from the air.
Few countries suit a heat pump better
A heat pump works hardest when the air is cold. Philippine air sits at 28–35 °C day and night, all year — so the machine barely works. The same Karnot unit delivers more heat per peso here than it manages in a European winter.
It works at night. It works in the rainy season. The fuel is the heat in the air, not the sunshine — and warm air is the one thing the Philippines never runs out of.
And because the country also gets five and a half strong sun hours a day, a heat pump pairs naturally with solar: run it in the daytime and your hot water tank becomes a battery, storing energy as heat instead of buying more lithium.
Which size do you need?
Start from how much hot water you use in a day, not from the size of the building.
| Your situation | What fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| House, villa or condo — one or two bathrooms | AquaHERO 200 L heat pump water heater | One tank feeds every bathroom. Plugs into a standard 13 A socket. Makes about 54 litres of hot water an hour. |
| Clinic, salon, B&B, small guest house — about 400 to 600 litres a day | AquaHERO 288 L | Bigger tank, same plug. About 65 litres an hour, so it keeps up with a morning rush. |
| Café or restaurant that wants power and hot water from one purchase | iVOLT F&B kit | Solar, a LiFePO₄ battery and an AquaHERO, installed, for ₱370,000. |
| Hotel, laundry, food plant, factory — above about 600 litres a day | iHEAT commercial heat pump, 9.5 to 100 kW | Sized to a measured load. Delivers up to 75 °C for process use. Several units can share one tank farm. |
| Swimming pool | iSPA pool heat pump | Holds pool temperature for a fraction of the cost of an electric or gas heater. |
Not sure which line you are on? The water-heater guide goes through the home and small-business sizes in detail. Bigger than that, and a free survey measures it properly.
What a heat pump costs in the Philippines
- For a home or guest house: the AquaHERO is quoted to your bathrooms and daily usage. Send us a photo of your electricity bill and the number of bathrooms, and you have a firm, installed price within a day. What you are paying for is one sealed machine that replaces every electric shower in the house — not one of them.
- For a café or restaurant: the iVOLT F&B kit bundles solar, a battery and an AquaHERO at ₱370,000 installed — power and hot water from one purchase.
- For hotels, laundries, factories: iHEAT commercial systems run from 9.5 to 100 kW and are quoted to your measured load. Anyone who gives you a commercial price without measuring is guessing — our survey is free.
Every Karnot unit carries a 24-month warranty from delivery.
What it saves — real Philippine numbers
These are measured Karnot installations, not brochure figures:
- A Philippine guest house replaced its per-bathroom electric showers with one AquaHERO and saves about ₱53,000 a year.
- A commercial Philippine site replaced electric water heating with iHEAT and saves about ₱627,000 a year — the system paid for itself in eight months.
As a rule of thumb, the bill drops by about three-quarters:
| Your heating bill today | With a heat pump | Saved in a year |
|---|---|---|
| ₱4,000 a month (a family home) | about ₱1,000 | about ₱36,000 |
| ₱25,000 a month (a guest house or clinic) | about ₱6,250 | about ₱225,000 |
| ₱100,000 a month (a hotel or laundry) | about ₱25,000 | about ₱900,000 |
Run your own number in the free savings calculator.
The honest catch: the saving is real only if you heat water regularly. A business that uses hot water every day saves the most. A bathroom used once a week does not justify the machine — and we will tell you so.
Heat pump or something else?
| Against | Where it stands | Read more |
|---|---|---|
| Electric shower or tank heater | Electric wins on the price tag. The heat pump costs about a quarter as much to run, every month after. | Heat pump vs electric water heater |
| LPG or diesel boiler | The heat pump is cheaper per litre of hot water and does not move with fuel prices. Boilers still win above about 80 °C. | Heat pump vs LPG vs diesel |
| Solar water heater (panels on the roof) | Free heat when the sun is out; nothing at night or in the rainy season. A heat pump works around the clock and pairs well with solar electricity instead. | Solar and storage guide |
How to pay for it
A home buys an AquaHERO the way it buys any appliance. For commercial systems, the arithmetic is friendlier than most owners expect: green-loan programmes from DBP, LandBank and BPI finance energy-saving equipment over five years, at rates priced for exactly this kind of project. These are loans, not grants — but when the monthly saving is bigger than the monthly payment, your cash flow improves from the first month, without writing a cheque.
For larger sites we also offer a Full-Service Rental Plan: we install and maintain the system at no upfront cost, and you pay a fixed monthly fee that is lower than the bill you have today.
Before you buy — five things to check
- Do you use hot water most days? If yes, the saving is real. If not, keep the electric shower.
- Where will the unit go? A home unit stands indoors, in a garage or utility room, with a drain for condensate and two 600 mm vents to outside. A commercial unit stands outdoors.
- Do you have a standard 13 A socket nearby? That is all the AquaHERO needs. Commercial units need a proper supply, which the survey checks.
- How hard is your water? Hard water scales any heater. An enamel-lined tank and a filter handle it; we will tell you if your area needs one.
- Do you need hot water at night? The tank stores it. A heat pump makes hot water slowly and cheaply, then holds it — which is also why the showers still work in a brownout.
Questions we get asked
How much does a heat pump cost in the Philippines?
A home AquaHERO is quoted to your bathrooms and daily usage — send a photo of your bill and you have a firm installed price within a day. A café kit with solar, battery and AquaHERO is ₱370,000 installed. Commercial iHEAT systems are quoted to your measured load and can be bank-financed over 60 months.
How much does it save?
About three-quarters of the heating part of your bill. ₱25,000 a month becomes roughly ₱6,250. A measured guest house saves about ₱53,000 a year; a measured commercial site about ₱627,000.
Which size do I need?
One or two bathrooms: AquaHERO 200 L. Around 400–600 litres a day: AquaHERO 288 L. Above that: iHEAT, sized to a measured load. Pools: iSPA.
Does a heat pump work at night or in the rainy season?
Yes. The fuel is the heat in the air, not the sunlight — and Philippine air stays warm around the clock, all year.
Is the propane refrigerant safe?
R290 is propane — the same gas that cooks your dinner, in a small sealed charge, designed to the European EN 378 safety standard. It is never refilled by the customer.
Can a heat pump run on solar?
Yes — and well. Heat the water during sun hours and the tank stores the energy for the evening. iHEAT units are SG-Ready, and the iVOLT kits bundle solar, battery and heat pump in one price.
See your number, not a brochure's
Two minutes in the calculator shows what your bill becomes. A free survey turns that into a firm quote, measured at your site.
Calculate my savingRelated reading: Heat pump water heaters — which size, what it saves · Heat pump vs electric water heater · Heat pump vs LPG vs diesel · Solar battery guide · Commercial hot water in detail · About Karnot