alt Hacker NewsPRC's been white labelling / JV components for tier1 HVAC brands for 15 years now, they're fine quality/lifespan wise. Flagship PRC heatpump already caught up to JP in HSPF2 @ ~11 (GREE). Either way, more cheap commoditized heat pump = more installations = more aggregate global efficiency - every $ spend on JP premium is inefficient allocation of resources in terms of maximizing global energy savings.
Arguably, PRC price / value engineer is their innovation and by far more MORE important than vs minute efficiency differences. Ultimately it's about TCO and global adoption, if JP can't bring their prices down, if they can't fractionalize cost, then they're doing more harm than good for net transition - there's better things to with that 30-50% premium.
Oh I totally get their game - and its a smart one. Flood the market, own the distribution and servicing and you win the game. I feel like the GREE product is tier 2 but most people don't care. Its not comparable to the well made products - they aren't junk but they aren't quality either. PRC seems to have targeted the broad market - smart move.
Id argue that the PRC price / value engineer is only viable because of the development that the innovations in heat pumps have managed to provide. Can't have one without the other. Though once price / value owns the market - innovation dies.