HOT WATER HEAT PUMPS IN THE ACT AND NEARBY NSW
The cheapest bill you will ever cut, if the unit is chosen for a Canberra winter.
Hot water is usually the second largest line on a household bill and the easiest one to move onto your own solar. The catch is the climate. A heat pump that performs beautifully in Brisbane can struggle on a Canberra morning, so we specify for cold and we say plainly which units we would put in our own houses.
- Share of a typical bill
- Around a quarter
- Certificate zone, ACT
- Zone 5
- NSW hot water incentive
- Up to 640 dollars
- ACT rebate
- Up to 2,500 dollars
hot water is usually second only to heating
heat pumps use a separate five zone map, and colder zones earn more
replacing electric resistance, or up to 330 coming off gas
half the installed price for eligible concession card holders
WHAT ACTUALLY DECIDES IT
The things that shape your design.
How cold it actually gets where you are
This is the whole question in Canberra. Ask for rated performance at low ambient temperature and whether the unit has a working cold climate mode, not just a minimum operating temperature on a spec sheet.
Noise, and where the unit sits
A heat pump has a compressor and a fan, and it runs for hours rather than minutes. Under a bedroom window or hard against a neighbour's boundary is how people come to regret an otherwise good unit. Distance from the existing hot water point matters too.
Tank size against your household
Too small and you run out on a winter evening. Too large and you are heating water you never use. Recovery rate matters as much as volume, because a fast recovering smaller tank can outperform a slow larger one.
Tank material and your water
Glass lined tanks with a sacrificial anode are the common and cheaper answer, and the anode needs checking. Stainless steel tanks cost more and avoid that maintenance. Which is the better buy depends on how long you intend to stay.
Timing it to your solar
Set a heat pump to heat in the middle of the day and it runs almost entirely on your own generation. That single setting changes the running cost more than the difference between two decent units.
What you are replacing
Electric storage to heat pump is usually straightforward. Gas to heat pump means decommissioning the gas appliance and sometimes the connection, and in the ACT it is worth knowing that once a gas connection is removed it cannot be reinstated, because new gas connections have been banned since December 2023.
Worth knowing before you compare quotes
Compare units on what they do in the cold, not on a headline efficiency figure measured somewhere warm. Ask for the noise rating, where the installer proposes to put it, the warranty on the tank and on the compressor separately, and who services it locally. Cheap imported units with no Australian service presence are the most common regret in this category.
NOT A STOCK PHOTO
The equipment we actually install.
Every one of these has its own page with real specifications, current pricing and the questions worth asking. Nothing here is a placeholder.
Hot water 3
Reclaim CO2 heat pump
A split-system heat pump running on CO2, with the compressor outside and your choice of tank. Four tank families cover everything from a tight side passage to bore water.
From $7,070 including GST
iStore heat pump
An all-in-one heat pump hot water system in two sizes. Compressor and tank in one cylinder, so it goes where your old electric tank sat.
From $4,378 including GST
Reclaim Eco R290 heat pump
An all-in-one heat pump water heater with the heat pump built onto a 287 litre tank, plugging into a standard 10 A power point. It uses the natural refrigerant R290 and is made in Australia by Dux for Reclaim.
From $5,187 including GST
WHAT YOU ARE ACTUALLY BUYING
What is included, and what is not.
Included as standard
- Removal and disposal of the old unit
- Supply and install of the heat pump, on the existing slab or base where one exists
- Reconnection of water, tempering valve, relief valve and drain
- Electrical connection on a suitable circuit, and timer or app scheduling set for daytime running
- Assignment of your small-scale certificates, and the NSW hot water incentive where you qualify, taken off the price
- Compliance paperwork and a walk through of the controls
What can add to it
We look for every one of these before quoting. Anything that applies is priced in writing before you commit.
- A new concrete base or pad where the unit will not sit where the old one did
- Relocating the hot water point, and the extra pipework and lagging that goes with it
- Electrical work where the existing circuit is not suitable, or where the switchboard needs upgrading
- Decommissioning a gas connection or capping gas at the meter
- Acoustic screening where the only viable position is close to a boundary or a window
- Tile, paving or render made good where pipework has to be rerouted
What counts as a standard job
A standard changeover puts the new heat pump where the old unit stood, on the existing base, using the existing water connections and a suitable electrical circuit nearby, at ground level with clear access. Anything else, including moving the unit to a quieter position, is priced in writing before we start.
WHAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY CLAIM
Rebates, and who they are for.
Rebates change often and most of them have conditions that decide whether you qualify. These are the ones that apply here, with the catch stated rather than buried.
ACT
Small-scale certificates
Air source heat pump hot water systems earn small-scale certificates, deducted from your price up front. The certificate count is set per model rather than per litre, and the ACT sits in heat pump Zone 5, which earns slightly more than the NSW coast. Certificates fall by about a fifth for installs from 1 January 2027.
ACT
Home Energy Support Program
Half the installed price back, capped at 2,500 dollars, for ACT homeowners holding an eligible concession or health care card, subject to a property value test and attendance at a free Everyday Climate Choices workshop. Hot water heat pumps sit in the same category as heating, cooling and cooktops, and the cap across the whole property is 5,000 dollars.
ACT
Sustainable Household Scheme
Loans from 2,000 to 20,000 dollars at 3 per cent over up to 10 years cover hot water heat pumps for ACT homeowners. Concession card holders in the Home Energy Support Program can borrow up to 10,000 dollars at zero interest instead.
NSW
Hot water upgrade incentive
Under the Energy Savings Scheme, up to 640 dollars off replacing an electric resistance system with a heat pump, or up to 330 dollars coming off gas. It is delivered as a discount on the quote through an accredited certificate provider, there is a minimum customer contribution, and since 1 December 2025 the unit needs at least a five year warranty to qualify. Actual amounts vary by model and location.
NSW
Home Energy Saver
Zero interest loans of up to 15,000 dollars covering hot water heat pumps among other upgrades, for households with a combined income up to 210,000 dollars.
Rebate information last checked 20 September 2026. We confirm what you qualify for, in writing, before anything is ordered.
HOW IT ACTUALLY GOES
From first call to switched on.
- 1
Tell us what you have now
Type, age, tank size, whether it is electric or gas, and where it sits.
- 2
We check the position
Access, noise, distance to the nearest neighbour's window, and whether the existing base and circuit will do.
- 3
We specify for the cold
Cold climate performance, recovery rate, tank material and noise, matched to the household rather than to the cheapest unit on the shelf.
- 4
Fixed price with the incentives already off
Certificates and, in NSW, the hot water incentive, deducted up front, with anything unusual named.
- 5
Changeover
Usually half a day. You are without hot water for a few hours, not a day.
- 6
Set to run on your solar
We schedule it to heat in the middle of the day and show you how to change it.
THE QUESTIONS WE GET ASKED
Straight answers.
Do heat pumps really work in a Canberra winter?
The good ones do and the poor ones struggle. What matters is performance at low ambient temperature and whether there is a genuine cold climate mode, rather than the efficiency figure on the front of the brochure. This is the reason we do not sell every brand on the market.
Are they noisy?
There is a compressor and a fan, so they are not silent, and they run for hours rather than minutes. A well chosen unit in a sensible position is unobtrusive. The same unit under a bedroom window is not. Position is part of the design, not an afterthought.
What size tank do I need?
Household size is the starting point, but recovery rate matters just as much, because a tank that reheats quickly can be smaller. We would rather ask about your morning routine than guess from the number of bedrooms.
Can I run it only on solar?
Close to it. Scheduling it to heat in the middle of the day means it draws from what you generate rather than what you buy. For most households that turns hot water from a significant bill item into a minor one.
I am on gas. Should I switch?
In the ACT, new gas connections have been banned since December 2023 and the Territory is working towards phasing out fossil gas by 2045. Existing homes can still replace gas appliances for now, but once a gas connection is removed it cannot come back. In NSW there is no such ban. Either way the sums usually favour a heat pump, and we will show you the working.
How long do they last?
Expect a tank warranty and a separate compressor or unit warranty, often of different lengths. Anode maintenance applies to glass lined tanks and not to stainless. The units we recommend all have Australian service support, because a hot water system that cannot be repaired locally is a false economy.
Old electric storage tank on its last winter?
Tell us what you have and where it sits. We will tell you which units we would actually put in a Canberra house, what the incentives take off, and what the changeover involves.
Where people usually go next
4.8133
4.7157Prices on this website are for the ACT and within 35 km of Canberra. Further out, the same system usually costs 15–30% more for travel, time away and the extended warranty responsibility that comes with distance. We confirm the final price before you commit to anything.