Advertisment
The advertisement was heard on radio and opened with a conversation between a father and a daughter.
“Hey, did someone put the immersion on?”
“Yeah, me, dad. This morning.”
“What? This morning?!”
A voice over then stated:
“If your home relies on a traditional heating system, like an oil or gas boiler, it may be time to look at a solution that’s more efficient, more economical, more practical, and more sustainable.
Daikin Energy Efficient Heat Pumps provide steady, reliable heat all year round. And because they run on renewable energy, they are good for the planet too!
Make the move to Daikin. That’s d-a-i-k-i-n. Daikin.ie. Your energy, your choice.”
Complaint
The complainant referred to the closing message of the advertisement which stated that because Daikin heat pumps ran on renewable energy, they were good for the planet.
The complainant said that the pumps ran on electricity, which it was entirely dishonest to describe as renewable energy as only a percentage of the electricity delivered through the national grid was generated from renewable sources. They said that the balance was generated by burning fossil fuels.
On this basis, the complainant considered the advertising to be dishonest and misleading.
Response
The advertisers explained that the advertisement was based on heat pump technology which is classified as being a renewable energy product. They said that the product was renewable because it used the energy from the air through the refrigeration cycle of the heat pump compressor to produce heat, to be used inside the home and to produce hot water for showers/baths, etc.
The advertisers said that heat pump technology was a proven and accepted renewable energy technology, which used only one unit of electricity to produce up to four units of energy, meaning it used renewable energy. They said that in their case, “air” was used to produce energy without generating any carbon emissions.
The advertisers said that in their advertisement they did not mention electricity nor how the heat was produced and clarified that they were not an electricity provider but rather a heat pump manufacturer. They referred to a ‘Homeowners Guide to Heat Pump Systems’ released by the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) who they clarified are responsible for the roll out of the Nation Retrofit Plan which requires 400,000 heat pumps to be installed in existing homes to replace fossil fuel boilers.
Conclusion
Complaint Upheld.
The Complaints Council considered the detail of the complaint and the advertisers’ response.
The Council were aware of the importance for society of the climate change agenda, including the switch from fossil fuels to renewables. They generally understood that there was one electricity grid in Ireland into which generated electricity was transmitted for distribution to end users. Further, electricity generated by different means was not differentiated once it was transmitted to the grid, i.e., it is then a homogeneous product.
While acknowledging that heat pump technology has environmental benefits compared to some other heating systems, the Council considered that the advertisement was not clear that the reference to renewable was in relation to the heat pump system itself. They noted that as the electricity used to power the heat pump in individual users’ homes would come directly from the national grid, this electricity could not be described as being wholly renewable and that it was therefore inaccurate to describe the heat pumps as running on renewable energy.
In the light of this, the Council considered that the claim that the heat pumps run on renewable energy was misleading and that the advertising was therefore in breach of the Code at sections 4.01, 4.04, 4.09, 4.10, 15.02 and 15.05.
Action Required:
The advertisement must not reappear in its current form unless substantiation is provided for the claim used.
