About Us
The Siddons Solarstream heat pump hot water system was developed to produce energy efficient hot water and to operate at night to obtain the cheaper off peak electrical tariffs, which can allow savings of up to 70% of electrical power compared to electrical element water heaters.
John Siddons with first prototype Solarstream model, 2004
The Solarstream is a third generation design and very much the result of an evolutionary development. Better value and higher quality than comparable products, the Solarstream is something special. It started in a small shed at the rear of the Sidchrome spanner factory in the late 1970’s. John Siddons, the son of the founder of the highly regarded Sidchrome Spanner business, decided then than energy saving technology was not only good for the environment but also just plain good sense.
The Siddons Solar Plus was released in 1985 as a ‘solar boosted heat pump water heater’ and the heater set a new benchmark for energy savings. Although it was difficult to install, the design was very successful. The state electrical commission surveyed one hundred users of the product and the response was the best they had ever received from a survey. Customer satisfaction reached new heights and many of these early heat pump water heaters are still in service today.
In 1989, Solar Plus became Quantum Energy Systems with a new generation of air, water and heat recovery heat pump water heaters, including a new patented commercial model, the Quantum Titan Eyre. These models were exported to China, Italy, Singapore and other countries around the world. Although compact, the heaters were a little noisy and lacked performance in colder weather leaving the window open for improvements to be made.
Several years later, the Siddons family came up with a ‘better mousetrap’. A new patented condenser tank, still in the tradition of the earlier Siddons water heater but now combining the longevity of stainless steel with the flexibility of a pre-charged split configuration.
The Siddons Solarstream now combines the efficiency benefits of the earlier Siddons Solar Plus without the installation difficulties. Energy costs have been further lowered by internalising the solar collector plate within the heat pump as a double layered fin coil providing a very large surface area, which allows the absorption of heat from the ambient air to be transferred to the condenser coil and then to the water.
Over the years Siddons has consistently committed to maintaining ongoing research and development into further improvements for their heat pump water heater design. Our goal remains, as it always was, to offer the Australian public the most energy efficient and reliable hot water system on the market.
