We first published this post in July last year and now that the weather is getting a little chilly we thought it timely to bump it up to the top for all our new readers and those of you contemplating your move to Tasmania.
Heating your house adequately is a topic that arises for people considering moving to Tasmania or wanting to upgrade their house in Tasmania. As for many areas in the southern parts of Australia, the winters do get cold in Tasmania. Amazingly you will find that many houses are not adequately heated. Often heating will only be in the living areas, or if added to the bedrooms this may be small panel heaters. Central heating is not common and can be frustrating, especially when looking for a rental home. Of course when you are looking to buy you have the option of upgrading the heating after settlement and hopefully before winter!
Gas Heating in Tasmania
We have lived in many different places around Australia and had many different types of heating and cooling. In our house in Gisborne Victoria we had ducted natural gas heating plus evaporative cooling. Natural gas however is relatively new to Tasmania and is about twice the price of what we were paying in Victoria. If you want to see if your house can be serviced by natural gas then check out the map and information at the Tas Gas website: Pipeline Locator | Tas Gas
Our new house in Sandy Bay is serviced by natural gas and we had it connected during the renovations of the house in Spring 2011. You have a choice of two suppliers – either Aurora or Tas Gas. They both charge the same price for the gas but Aurora runs a program called Aurora preferred suppliers whereby you can use one of their accredited suppliers and then the fitness of the product (making sure it does what is claimed) and the workmanship is also guaranteed by Aurora. It was for this program and the extra piece of mind that we chose Aurora to be our gas supplier.
Depending on what type of gas system and appliances you install then there may be an installation fee for the pipeline or none at all. As we are installing a full ducted heating system then we didn’t have to pay any installation fee for the gas pipe and gas meter. If you only install gas hot water then there is a reduced charge.
LPG gas is also available throughout Tasmania and you can use this for your heating needs though unfortunately it is about twice the price of natural gas.
Electric Heating in Tasmania
Electricity costs have been going up dramatically throughout the whole of Australia and Tasmania is no different. Tasmania has only one retail electricity supplier for individual small consumers (large businesses have more choice) and that is Aurora. You are therefore stuck with the price that is set and you cannot shop around for a better deal unlike the situation on the mainland.
The most prevalent form of heating in Tasmania is called heat pumps. From Googling it seems that this name is unique to Tasmania and New Zealand. The mainland more simply calls them reverse cycle air conditioners. Depending on the size of the heat pump that you install you may be eligible for a reduced electricity cost from Aurora – please ask them for more information.
If purchasing a heat pump also make sure it is one of the brands that is guaranteed to work in low temperatures. Tasmania gets more chilly at night and in early mornings than some places on the mainland so you need to make sure your unit is going to be capable of operating effectively and efficiently.
You can of course purchase a ducted heat pump system to heat your entire house but the cost of this can range from $15,000 to $20,000. The cost of a ducted gas heating system is also much more expensive in Tasmania than it is on the mainland. In Melbourne particularly you can get a ducted gas system for between $4,000 and $5,000 and sometimes even less on sale. In Hobart we found out recently that the same system could cost $8,000 to $9,000 installed.
How are we heating our house in Tasmania
After much consideration we decided to go with a “ducted” “central” hydronic heating system for our house powered by a natural gas boiler. This involves putting hot water powered radiators throughout the house and the system works by utilising hot water to heat the radiators and the entire house.
One of the radiators during installation & Charlie in front having a nap (and it’s not connected)
We are really impressed with the company, Central Heat, that we chose to go with. They weren’t the cheapest (they were close though), they weren’t the dearest but were the ones who impressed us most with their product knowledge, system knowledge and general skills. The owner, Steve, comes from Europe where hydronic heating is utilised throughout and has vast experience on hydronic heating. One thing I can say though is that Steve was always happy to answer our questions and he really did help us to decide on the best system. We can highly recommend that you get in touch with him and get a quote. Hydronic heating as a guide is more expensive than ducted gas but far cheaper than a ducted heat pump system. Steve’s website also fully explains how hydronic heating works so check out his information and pictures but you can also ask us any questions about the installation.
We have now been in our house for seven months and love our heating. We operate the system using one of the automatic programs (which can be adapted to suit you) so it comes on each morning and off again around bedtime. It is also set to come on if the house gets below a certain temperature overnight. Even in summer it did come on a little some evenings and in the last couple of months is working much harder.
Heating your house, what upgrades you might need to make and other associated issues are all things you need to consider when buying a house in Tasmania. If you would like Settled In to help you find your perfect house and explore these issues with you then please contact us . We look forward to assisting you.
What is your experience with heating in Tasmania? We would love to hear from you.
Photo Credit: geoffeg via Compfight cc
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Hi. Great article. I thought I’d add a few tips based on our experience, moving to Hobart from the mainland in winter several years ago.
We found that getting good quality curtains custom made for our windows – with pelmets – has helped to keep heat in and reduce our energy costs (our winter electricity usage has actually gone down). We’d always had blinds on the mainland (various cities) and they seem to be very trendy right now. The house we bought had very nice, newish ones so we were reluctant to replace them, but I’m glad we did. I love the warmth, texture and opulence they add to a room. They also suit our older ‘character’ home much better (I promise you I’m not in the soft furnishing business or real estate). Best of all, once installed they cost nothing to ‘run’ or maintain.
We have 2 south facing rooms (that we were a little worried about when we bought the house) but actually we have no trouble keeping them warm. Fortunately they have large windows that allow plenty of natural light, so they feel light and bright. In mid-winter, when the sun hasn’t much warmth to it, they are still pleasant rooms to sit in, but may need a a boost for half an hour or so from an electric heater. Closing the curtains in late afternoon / early evening keeps the heat from escaping.
We have a ‘heat pump’ which heats the main open living areas very effectively when required. On cold nights, we run an energy efficient electric heater the bedrooms for an hour or so before bedtime (and switch them off overnight). We can also run them for a short period at other times if a quick burst of heat is needed. This is all the heating we run and it keeps us warm and comfortable most of the time. We don’t waste energy heating rooms we’re not using. We also use ‘draught sausages’ and keep doors closed.
Overall, I’d say keeping our house warm and cosy is much easier and cheaper than we expected it would be. Plus, we don’t have the expense of air-conditioning in summer.
Thanks for your comments Honoria. Window furnishings most definitely make a difference, thanks for adding that to the list of things to consider. In our last house in Victoria we were in a colder area outside Melbourne and built a house, so we included double glazing. That was an amazing difference and our house never really got too hot or too cold, along with the heating/cooling that we never had to leave on overnight.
In terms of expense, we are waiting for our first winter bills since being in this house with our gas heating. Last bills were pretty good, but only included the very start of the colder weather.
Jo