Hot water upgrade · 60 seconds
Three ways to upgrade your hot water. One's right for your home.
A heat pump, a tank run off your solar, or an off-peak electric system — any of them can be the cheapest, depending on your house, your solar and where you live. Choose wrong and you can overspend for a decade.
Answer six quick questions and we'll rank the three paths for your home — honestly, with the reasons and the Victorian rebates you can claim. No cost, no obligation, no sales pitch.
01
Heat pump
Best for
Most homes with a bit of outdoor space. The lowest running cost of any grid option, and it attracts the biggest rebates.
Running cost
Around $300–$600 a year — roughly a third of an old electric tank, because it moves heat from the air rather than making it.
Upfront
Higher to buy, but Victorian and federal rebates can bring it down to the low thousands. Needs a spot outside for the fan unit.
02
Tank on your solar
Best for
Homes with rooftop solar and spare daytime power. Turns surplus you'd otherwise export for cents into hot water worth far more.
Running cost
Near zero on sunny days — the tank heats on your own solar. Cloudy stretches lean on the grid, so it suits genuine surplus.
Upfront
Low. A standard tank plus a timer or diverter — no compressor, almost nothing to wear out.
03
Off-peak electric
Best for
Homes without solar, or anyone who wants the simplest, cheapest swap. No outdoor unit, nothing to think about.
Running cost
Around $700–$900 a year. It uses the most energy of the three, but heats overnight on the cheap controlled-load rate.
Upfront
The lowest of the three and the quickest to fit — often a like-for-like replacement of what you already have.
Prefer to talk to a person?
Prefer to just talk it through?
Not up for the quiz? Give us a call and we'll talk through your options, or drop us an email. Same honest advice — we'll help you land on the right one.
Common questions
A few things people ask.
Is this a quote?
No — it's an indicative guide based on your answers, not a formal quote. It ranks the three upgrade paths for your home and gives rough running costs. We'll confirm exact pricing and rebates when we talk.
Which option is actually cheapest?
It depends on your home. A heat pump is usually cheapest to run; a tank on your solar can be nearly free if you have surplus; off-peak electric is cheapest to buy. The quiz weighs your situation and tells you which — with the reasons.
What are the rebates, really?
In Victoria a heat pump can stack the Victorian Energy Upgrades discount, the Solar Victoria rebate and federal STCs — together often worth up to around $2,700. Eligibility depends on your income and property, so we confirm the exact figure before anything's decided. No dollar promises up front.
Do I have to go electric?
For most upgrades, effectively yes: from 1 March 2027, a gas hot water system in an existing Victorian home that reaches end of life must be replaced with electric. You can still repair a working gas unit — but your next system will almost certainly be one of the three here.
Do you install these, or just run the quiz?
We install them. We're a licensed Melbourne (Bayside) plumber — if you're in our area we'll quote and fit your best-fit option and sort the rebate paperwork. If you're outside it, the ranking is still yours to take to a local installer.
We'd rather you didn't need us. When you do, we're here.
