Southern Suburbs

There are 3 main choices for hot water:

The first choice is choosing between these types of heating sources.
– Gas both natural and LPG.
– Electric hot water.
– Solar hot water.
Each choice has more options.

The second choice is size. A Standard 2 Bathroom 3 Bedroom dwelling should use a 250ltr Electric.  If you need help please call our team on

We also recommend checking your ongoing energy bill to know exactly how much your hot water is consuming over a 12 month period.  Basic average 250ltr cost is between $500 and $700 a year to run.  Even at $700 a year it’s still affordable as it works out around $2 a day for your family’s hot water needs.

Compare this cost to a Stiebel Eltron Heat pump and the running cost is even more affordable for around $1 a day for your family’s hot water needs.

Recently, Gas heating has become expensive, as for natural gas the supply charge each day before your even use gas is over $1 a day plus your gas consumption which averages the daily cost to over $2 a day.  LPG gas also is expensive with bottle hire, expensive bottle exchange, and a pain to keep changing and booking times with suppliers.  Gas can be either a storage tank or instantaneous, which are only a small box mounted on an external wall.   Great to tight access dwellings.

Solar hot water systems are broken down into 2 mains systems.  They generally run a 300ltr tank only as they require the tank to act as a battery to store heat for multiple days of use in case of overcast days conclusively.

Close-coupled units are installed directly on a roof.  These systems are great as long as your house is designed mechanically to allow for short direct water runs and roof structure.  These systems must be installed on a North facing roof to get the most benefit.  You must always be mindful of current weather to manage the booster switch to get the most out of your solar hot water system.  This type of system would be the cheapest to run being under $1 a day

Split system hot water system:  this system can be retro-fitted to an existing system as the hot water tank is on the ground and panels/tubes are roof-mounted.

These systems have a lot of moving parts.  Running costs can be cheap but constant monitoring and repairs can add up over a period of time. This system would be around $1 a day not including future repairs/maintenance.

Solar hot water systems are not the best choice generally for busy working families that just want constant hot water and don’t want to monitor period weather conditions to turn the booster on and off when required.