I am currently installing a Thermia Calibra ground source heat pump (installers are apparently too busy).
When I looked at the insides of the pump, the simplicity of construction was surprising- I could readily understand whats going on, as it consisted of off-the shelf parts made by other companies- compressor, circulation pumps, VFD and heat exchangers.
I second to that. Just got same model installed few weeks ago and was having exact same thoughts. However, now I start to think that devil is in the details (as always). And it has ton of details, which probably have cost thousands on people hours to design, test and implement. Most are related to how to make it work with maximum efficiency while consuming as little power as possible, some are safety related, etc etc. And the build quality is outstanding, it works flawlessly so far, no complaints. Despite the steep price, one of the best investments I have made recently.
Yeah, I have travelled that road too often (hmm, looks simple, I bet I can make it for half the cost- and a year later I have spent way more even disregarding the cost of my time and still only have a barely working thing) to know how that would turn out :)
When I looked at the insides of the pump, the simplicity of construction was surprising- I could readily understand whats going on, as it consisted of off-the shelf parts made by other companies- compressor, circulation pumps, VFD and heat exchangers.