ActronAir ESP Plus Series 2

Editing my review from Terrible to Amazing! – Had one major issue with this unit, a persistent slow gas leak. I just spoke with Actron, and have since found out that the guy who was trying to resolve the issue had not been following the correct procedure. While the unit is currently out of warranty, Actron have agreed to resolve the issue for me under warranty. Show details ·  1

Stay away from Actron and tell your builder to consider another brand! – Stay away from this locally made product. We had one installed in our new house build. Compressor has to be replaced in the first few months of operations. Runs extremely noisy in heat mode, I hate to think what my neighbours think when we need to run it to heat our home. We only received an office style controller with the unit and there is no… Read more

way to upgrade it to a smart controller as neither Actron own solution or any other smart home device is compatible with the unit. The only option is a complete replacement. In todays world of technology this is a joke for a air conditioner. Should have gone with an import that would have been cheaper and more functional.

Beyond disappointed in SRD 131C – Installed an ActronAir SRD 131C bought because it's an Australian company. It went out of production less than 6 months after we bought it. Draws 5KW of power. Empties our solar battery in 2.5 hrs. One room will be freezing or too hot and the unit cannot sense this and keeps going until the room where the sensor is reaches the set temperature. It… Read more

doesn't ramp down. It can't be wifi enabled. It is not fit for the purpose of heating and cooling our home and future proofing the energy needs of our house. It cost almost $16,000 and we cannot afford to replace it. We will not buy an ActronAir unit again.

A great A/C with even better service to match – The unit works well and is very quiet. When there was a problem recently Actron Air offered prompt and very competent service. So glad I bought from a reputable and courteous company. Show details ·  1

Fast and quiet – I'm rewriting my review to provide an update thanks to Actron stepping in and helping us out big time, especially since they had no obligation to given the age of the unit. I never had an issue with the effectiveness of the aircon (far from it, as I said in my original review I thought it was efficient and effective, whisper-quiet on the inside… Read more ·  2

and had some great features) but my significant problem was with the noise of the outside compressor disturbing the neighbours.

Our experience with Actron started fairly recently when we bought an ~8-year-old house with an Actron ESP Ultima ducted aircon. It's not the current model (clearly, with the house being 8 years old) and it turns out the previous model with the digital scroll compressor was not exactly on the quiet side. Our neighbours certainly didn't think it was quiet - shortly after we bought the house we found out there was a history of noise complaints with the council recently issuing a corrections notice. Needless to say, neighbourly relations weren't great (nothing like moving in hoping to make friends and finding frustrated neighbours instead).

Wanting to do the right thing by our neighbours, we called Actron out to do a service. Fast forward a week or so, two Actron technicians turned up (to Actron’s credit they were super lovely, took their time to explain everything and did what looked like a thorough check and noise readings) and ultimately let me know that there is nothing wrong with the unit and that the compressor noise cutting in and out was normal for that unit and that their newer models were quieter. They mentioned that there is an upgrade ($3500 for our 23kW size of unit) that brings the noise levels in line with the new range of units. Unfortunately, they were not able to let me know how many decibels the upgrade would reduce (because it's case dependent) - a key bit of info for us given council had done measurements and we knew that unless we could reduce it by a certain amount we would still be up the proverbial creek.

Frustrated and unable to use the aircon much thanks to deteriorating neighbourly relations, I wrote a review here which reflected my experience with Actron - in essence, that the aircon was efficient and effective but simply way too loud, especially for a quiet area like ours. After some time, and completely out of the blue, Actron reached out to me with a super generous offer that completely eliminated the risk of us spending $3500 and finding that we were still in the same situation in terms of violating council noise rules. In essence, they offered the parts for free and asked us to cover labour if the upgrade addressed the problem, otherwise we wouldn't have to pay anything.

Rainy weather delayed the upgrade but I can now happily report that the upgrade has been carried out and the difference in noise levels is significant. It has definitely taken the loud "thud" noise of the compressor kicking in and out, and the unit is overall quieter as well. The other day I had it running in my daughter's room with the laundry door open (next to the main unit) and I forgot it was running - previously I would definitely have been able to hear it. Happy days! Actron have also been very helpful with giving us the details of the new noise levels (6dB lower than before, which doesn't sound like much but if you know anything about the decibel scale you'll know that's quite significant) so we could pass this on to the council if needed. The good news is that passing that info on to the council seems to have satisfied everyone, so we're hoping this is one story with a happy ending.

Overall, the aircon is whisper quiet on the inside and works brilliantly to cool the house down (and also to heat it). We’ve had some really hot days and the house cools down fast. We have 8 zones and can individually control the temperature in these from each room and from the panel. The unit also seems pretty energy efficient (compared to our previous split system at our old place, taking into account the difference in size of course) - I can certainly see on our power monitoring system the ESP mode kicking in and scaling down power use. With the recent upgrade, the unit is also much quieter outside - a big thank you to Actron for helping us out, despite the aircon being the old model and 8 years on from the installation date. In the end, and to our surprise, Actron covered the costs - Adrian (if I may quote him) indicated that he was only human and he understood the unfortunate situation we found ourselves in. So a big A+ to Actron on customer service and standing behind their product.

Fantastic! – ActronAir installed our new airconditioning system yesterday. They were fabulous. The team were in and out in one day. They were polite young men who worked hard and were consultative as to where we wanted each aspect of the machine to be installed. They took the time to clean up after themselves, and they took the time to teach me how to use the… Read more ·  1

system. The outdoor machine is incredibly quiet when running, and the indoor noise is much lower than I expected, even when it is on its highest setting.

SS1P Soft Starter blown again – 3 years and 1 month since we last replaced the soft starter / capacitor on our ESP + system. Given that we don't use the system for heating during winter, surely 3 years is a pretty poor life expectancy for a part that costs $837 + labour to replace. Show details

If I could give zero stars I would! Awful waste of money – We had the Actron ESP unit installed in our new build 4.5 years ago. The first week we moved into out home it didn't work - zero cooling. I should have know that was a look into how things would be over the next 4.5 years. Every summer we are on the phone to have a technician out to look at the system with another issue and zero cooling. Don't… Read more

be fooled once the warranty is up you will not get their sympathy. Our warranty ran out October and in less than 2 months the system will not work at all... no power, nothing! We had a technician out before Christmas as there was no cooling and no airflow. He replaced two ducts, we have been changed and then Actron sent a bill for a call out fee, and here we sit two weeks later and over the holidays with no aircon at all. Waiting for yet another technician to be sent out.

When it did work it wouldn't cool our house to the selected temperature. What a terrible waste of money.

Noise machine – Like many other complaints my unit makes a clunking noise every 3 to 4 seconds. Apparently according to Actron this is normal. Strange that they want approx $2500 to “fix” but with no guarantees that the noise will stop. Totally disappointed considering that I wanted to buy Australian. Show details

Disappointing for the cost – Tried to support made in Australia and spent a fortune on this, but its been problematic and quite noisy. Regret this purchase unfortunately. We've had three service calls now and hoping that its issues are finally resolved. Show details

11 months after install and issue still not resolved – Constant whistling within pipes from compressor and throughout house. Identified on day of install in aug2020. Actron confirmed “known issue with this model” see if this review will resolve issue! Show details

Noisy and heat is not that much powerfull – I just got keys of new house 3 months before normally my house temp is 13c after 2 hours its not going more than 18c after 2 hours running time at 30 c Show details

Cools and Heats well, but beware the clunking noises and system failures – The Air Conditioner works well (cools and heats), when it isn't failing. Controller is simplistic but it does the job. Seems relatively good on electricity usage as well. However.. my system is less than 5 years old, and we have had Actron out to repair it under warranty multiple times for Gas Leaks which stop it from working (usually in the… Read more

middle of summer with more than 5 days wait for service). I have been told that this can happen due to moving parts. Also, the outdoor unit has an awful clunking sound (occurs about every 10 seconds) that can be heard from the street. Have been advised that a new base was designed to reduce running noise (which I think is code for 'we know its a problem, we have fixed it in the new model but you are stuck with the older model) The service team are responsive to emails and want to help. I am just dreading what this is going to cost me once we are out of warranty. Had a choice from the builder on suppliers, and unfortunately chose Actron and upgraded to the 'higher spec' ESP model. I guess lesson learnt. Will definitely be looking for an alternate brand next time.

Finally a company that delivers – Only installed 5 weeks ago and so far working as expected, yet to experience extreme temperatures that will tell if this system is what it is hyped up to be. Show details ·  1

as promised,and backed up – had system in 3 weeks,had question on how use.a tech came out and showed us how it was fixed,most helpful said any worries just ring.so far no need,happy so far all good  Show details ·  1

Brand new unit failed twice in 2 weeks – We got this system installed in the newly built Metricon home. Heating did not work on the day it was handed over (on a Friday). It was going to standby. That's all. Builder logged a service call. By Sunday, it started working on its own. On Monday we moved. On Tuesday service person called. But there was no issue to be shown. After another 10… Read more

days on a Friday, it failed again. Not working at all. Called the service company. They are not to arrive before Monday. Now, we are going to spend a whole weekend freezing in the winter. Cannot even go to Bunnings to buy a fan heater under stage 4 lockdown. Quite frustrated after spending about 24K.

Blows Cool Air on Heat Cycle – ESP Ultimate SRD 203C system Only 7 year old. Pretty Dissatisfied for a system 7 years old to give problems. Spent the Big Dollars got the Top of the line Australian made unit . Problem started with E9 code . Technician came out found no Gas , Filled with Gas to find leak. Returned week later found faulty Valve . Why the Valve fails after only 7… Read more

years is another question. Replaced Valve , filled with Refrigerant Gas . So far spent $1300 . Next Problem or associated with previous problem ? So we fix one problem and get another new problem. Set on 23 degrees system runs for 2 hrs or so reaches close to set Temperature then blows Cool Air . Technician s have spoken to Actron who advised to change Controller on Ceiling unit . This was changed but apparently not talking to the unit as it should . Service Manager came and rectified this and we were all hoping for Problem rectification outcome ...but still no good When system get close to 23 Degrees , the Dampener still seems to be opened two thirds by looking at indicators on Display Screen. I may have misunderstood but I thought it was supposed to be closed down more than this . Fernair have attended a few times to try to sort but at this stage no successful resolution has been found . Anyone else with this problem?

Brands' of Warriewood – Un it has only been place on three recent days and has worked as required. Controls we have yet to work out the full functions but what we have used are easy. Have not operated in extreme weather Show details ·  1

I love it – I love that it is zoned and has a thermostat to turn off once ideal temperature is reached. I paid extra to get the phone app and it is well worth it Show details ·  1

EXTREMELY HAPPY – We have had our Actron Air System installed and have been extremely happy with it. It heats and cools the whole house very evenly and copes under high demand in both summer and winter conditions and copes very well with extreme temperature days. It is easy to operate and has multiple settings to suit any needs in any room at one time. Very Very happy with our system. Highly recommend Actron Air Systems. Show details ·  1

perfect so far,how did we manage with our old evap – all seems good even though its early days we has a few days upper 30's and it was awesome,we have it set at 24 degrees so we will see how it goes in the colder months to come Show details ·  1