Hills Solar Hot Water Systems

More expensive than we thought – Beware that several parts have a short life/warranty and replacement of them costs one quarter of the original price. The electronics are too complicated. Solarhart is better for that. So now the unit does not work in hot sunny weather unless electrically boosted. Show details

It has been one of the best investments – We installed a Hills evacuated tube solar hot water system in our house at least 10 years ago. It has a 280 litre marine grade holding tank, a control box to switch the recirculating pump on and off and glass evacuated tubes mounted in the roof. The unit has not missed s beat in 10 years and has saved me thousands of dollars on electricity costs. It has been one of the best investments I have made. Show details

Lemon – Big $$ & the unit never worked for first 2years! Kept blowing , vent valves & flow valves & pump never worked! Nobody knew how to repair the unit! Hills stopped doing solar, the unit worked to a degree, but made a hell of a noise! Valve blew again on roof , lots wasted water, 4+ months to get a valve ($280) Valve installed , plumber said its… Read more

not working , you sort it out! Valve blew after 10 days & plumber refused to come back, called another plumber who disconnected the unit & advised me , " Possibly Make work with $1,000+ spent on it"" Called Hills Warranty & they weren't interested , nor did they understand, seems like Hills are playing " Dumb" Contacted ACCC who advised me to go direct to VCAT as Hills Management wont even respond! Appears to me like Hills have designed this with along with Warranty as a Revenue Raising Unit on Repairs!

Rusted out in less than 3 years! – The electric heating element had to be replaced during the first winter luckily this was under warranty. The water tank then completely rusted out in less than 3 years. Avoid at all costs. Salmon Plumbing in Brisbane sold and installed this system. Hopefully they will replace it. I will update more after I ring them tomorrow.  Show details

not happy – I have had to replace the thermostat 3 times in 5 years! Also the Caleffi valve twice, then since removed as apparently not needed anyway?! Bad buy! Way too many repairs needed!! I wouldn't recommend this product to anyone. Hills need to cover these repairs in their warranty or make a better product!  Show details

Hills Esteem 30 tube 315L Everlasting SS tank electric boosted – I purchased this system in 2009 and it has been fantastic. The north facing roof it is mounted on is at only at 22 degrees. I am an electrical engineer and installed the unit myself. It supplies a 2 person house as well as a granny flat. Every care was taken re insulation at the exit and entry points of plumbing on the roof as well as the tank… Read more

sensor which is a very flimsy thermo couple on the end of a very flimsy lead.

At Xmas time and other times of the year when family are staying and lots of showers etc,etc I turn on the electric boost just to be sure we don't go cold. Also during winter and a couple of fully overcast days we turn on the electric boost overnite just to be sure.

However solar storage hot water systems are not just install and forget! The owner needs to have a reasonable knowledge of how the system works and be able to understand the physics involved.

If a install and forget system is required get a flat panel unit with tank attached, and they look like hell on the roof if it faces the street !

The main problem with our system has been over overheating / overproducing during summer. This is solved by an all metal relief valve set at a pressure that vents when pressure in the manifold goes too high. (Vented water is piped into a Garden bed via a hose)

Anyway the first failure has just occurred and as would be expected it was the manifold sensor on the roof! Replacements are available via various retailers but my problem was solved with a $14 unit of much better quality than the original which surprisingly lasted 7 years.

Once again all evacuated tube systems are tricky and really need a technically minded owner. For our system it has been fantastic. We are on rainwater in the country and would recommend a evacuated tube system to any one BUT the most important thing is the quality of the installation, installers who come,chuck it all together will cause more cost and bad language than can be imagined. Most of the installers are sub contractors and the quality of their work can be quantified by how much they get paid per install. I am aware of all the problems with all brands of these systems and reiterate that if you want plug and play and forget this is probably not the way for you.

Warranty claims with this group are very difficult – If my experience with Hills is any example you will not want to purchase this type of product and expect them to be cooperative or even helpful when it comes to a warranty claim. Even after pointing out the consumer law requirements to them following a major failure they are not interested in their obligations

Worst product ever which cost me more just by repairing – Hill solar hot water system worst product ever. Wasting a lot of money just by repairing. Could even buy an another new one with that amount of money spend. I wished I had read the review before going to buy it. I spend more than $8000 for the whole evacuate tube system.

I Wish I Had Of Seen These Reviews. Unfortunately, It Seems Everyone Has The Same Troubles – We purchased our Hills Solar hot water in November 2013. Very soon after (weeks) we encountered troubles. We have had atleast 5 call outs in under 2 years (some needing multiple visits and waiting months for parts). We have had to replace element a couple of times, fix leaks, replace solar panels and some of the leaks have taken out the electrics… Read more

inside. I did more research on our solar panels and inverter and wish I had of spent time researching HWS more... lesson learned the hard way.

Big mistake - there should be - ratings – I had a Hills Apollo 250 plus Rinnai Sunmaster tank/water heater installed November 2011. It has cost me nearly $1700 in repairs so far. There is now rust underneath the panels on the metal roof which I maintain is a result of the constantly running water from a disintegrated panel - there were no replacement panels in Australia at the time so it… Read more

took from October 2013 until March 2014 to fix. Then earlier this year the relief valve blew because the sensor cable was chewed off by either a bird or possum (according to the installer) (cost $412). I have to have my roof replaced due to other problems nowhere near the hot water panels and asked my installer whether he would consider altering the unit to an electric one as a good will gesture because of the problems I have had and also the rust. Apart from the fact I have lost all confidence in the system and am listening at night (unit is over my bedroom) for the sound of creaking and running water I'm not keen on putting the unit back on a brand new roof to possibly wreck it. Installer passed my request on to Apricus (warranty holder) and Hills Solar so now I am engaged in a email battle with them. Apparently ' a leaking panel should not cause rust on a sound roof' - it does if the water is trapped behind the panel framework. Also Hills are querying the time it took to replace the panel as they were never 'out of stock this long' Good job I have kept all my invoices and correspondence. Hills and Apricus are definitely firms to avoid.

Crap hws – Crap hws had panels changed, element blew just over 12 months of rare use, controller replaced, on a hot day can at times fill a 9 litre bucket released from the pressure release valve, feel a little sorry for the plumber having to cop all calls to repair a faulty and low quality item the old story don't buy cheap

EcoSmart Solar Hot water system – We have replaced a panel and pump, relief valve etc within six months. So I wonder what future problems will be. Not to mention the cost of about $100 a year for the five yearly service. Stick with your electric HWS as it will be cheaper in the long run. Don't believe the web site claims about savings.

chromagen – seems there all the same,have a chromegen,must be 10yr old,started rusting outside about 2 yrs after install.just now started leaking.have to cover when over 30*,have had spa pool twice.going gas.non are 100% stainless,try a magnet,even your stove isnt.gal fittings,not brass.no quality anymore.well,i am.!.

Shonky to say the least – We've so many problems with this system since we installed in 2012. No wonder they were selling them at a discounted price - we've almost paid the same amount again in repairs! Now that the company has gone under it's hard to know who to make a claim against, but we've started the process with the ACCC. Hills has a lot of explaining to do.

Thank "someone" that Hills no longer make these, – I've had 3 issues with our Hills Apollo 270ltr solar HWS since it was installed in October 2011. In the current situation, I've now been 7 days without hot water & estimate that between 10 - 12,000ltrs of water has gone down the drain. Apricus now service (And I use that word very reluctantly) as no plumbing supply place on the Sunshine Coast… Read more

carries parts. Hence the long wait for repairs & I still don't know if it will be covered by warranty. NOT happy.

Only had for a month and release vowel replaced, and 18 months later same but 300 dollars to repair – Not enough warranty. I want the cost covered by Hills, You spend the money for what you think is going to be a quality product, and it has been faulty from the start

Ecosmart Solar Hot Water System - Early problems – We have installed the split system Ecosmart Intelligent Hybrid 315 Litre, 2 Panel Gas Boosted Solar Hot Water System, Model # E3FND1T2DC for only 17 months with a cost of $4649.45. The system has already broken down. It has been almost 2 weeks since we contacted the supplier but the problem is still not fixed. Firstly, the pump was to blame. We… Read more

ordered a new pump and waited for the part coming from Eastern state. When the part arrived and got installed, the system still did not work. Now we have to wait again for the dealer to consult the head office. We got this system to support the Australian products but unfortunately, it is quite disappointing. With the amount of money you put in and the durability of the product you get, it does not seem very good and very "Intellligent" as the product was advertised.

Really poor product and service – We invested in a Hills Solar hi water yum six years back and have had no end of trouble and additional expenses. Failures have included the tank and a valve on the solar tubes - two identical failures a couple of years apart. These have been compounded by really poor service by the agent - they tke over a week to respond Whn it works it's ok A failure each two years that cost hundreds of dollars each time.