electric space heating

We have been quoted $6,500.00 to bring the gas 30mts to our block so obviously wont be having gas on, shame as I really fancied one of those gas fake log heaters which look fantastic and have been made to heat the house these days. Anyway, I was looking for some input as to what electric split systems people have and could recommend. also what costs to heat a 22sq house as I am freaking out as to what the bills will be through winter. Can't seem to find much on the internet which was a surprise
 
Before you give up on gas altogether, what about bottled gas? It is only costing us $1,100 to install 3 outlets and another 1 for a gas hotplate in a double storey house.

If that is not an option either, then maybe split A/C for about $2.5K installed for a 3HP?
 
Before you give up on gas altogether, what about bottled gas? It is only costing us $1,100 to install 3 outlets and another 1 for a gas hotplate in a double storey house.

Interesting! I'm actually looking at a house in Sydney without gas. If you don't mind, could you please PM me more details about running bottled gas to the house?
 
You just get a gas plumber in to run the pipes and outlets and he will put you intouch with a gas bottle / refiller supplier in your area.
 
just make sure you check the price of bottled gas thoroughly. We bought a house in Canberra which had bottled gas. We kept the bottled gas on for two years then got mains gas connected (no issue as the mains were close).

After a few bills, I realised that the bottled gas was about 3 times the price of mains gas !!!!!
 
Apparently Sydney is having it's coldest day since the early 80s, so my thoughts are turning to heating, too.
I was thinkiing hydronic with solar power to haet the water? Would cost a bit to set up, but the running costs would be minimal. Of course, winter will be gone before I do anything about it and then at this time next year I'll think about it again.
 
Don't be tempted to use electric panel heaters, unless it's a last resort and don't be fooled by some being more efficient than others, THEY ALL USE A HEAP OF POWER.

Far better to use inverter aircon technology, is about 3x the efficiency of any electric element heater (kW energy in vs. kW heat out). Or connected gas.

Or look for a better price for gas install. I would also suggest that if you provide the trench for the plumber, the quote will be massively cheaper.

:)
 
You cant get a plumber to do this, it has to go through a gas retailer, and they get a quote from SP Ausnet who own the asset. So obviously everyone puts their cop on top as the quote comes through. Have tried 2 retailers and quote exactly the same. I have heard bottled gas is horrendously expensive and also solar on the new electricity meters is hugely expensive. Starting to think about a coonara type heater as we are going to be right near the beach and I can see it being very cold in winter, even although the living areas face North.
 
solar on the new electricity meters is hugely expensive

Not quite what I meant.

Think of a solar hot water heater (standard item) that sends the heated water through the house in pipes to wall panels. Using heated water is old technology - think of the boilers that lots of buildings overseas have in their basements. Using the sun to heat that water is easier for us because in most parts of the country we don't get snow that covers solar panels. So it's a closed system i.e. you don't connect it to a meter.

A bloke I knew years ago had this sort of system. The only mains power he needed was a connection to drive a small pump that circulated the water.

No idea what this sort of thing would cost to set up - probably hard to retrofit an existing house. But the running cost would be hardly anything.

I'm still tossing up how to heat my warehouse building, but winter will be gone soon in Sydney so I won't think about it again till this time next year when it gets cold again.
 
Cost-wise, do you think inverter aircon heating is about on par with connected natural gas?

Inverter reverse cycle split systems are very economical. The system of using an inverter controller for the motor uses minimal power - it's all electronics, and it ramps up and down the motor that runs the compressor in the refrigeration circuit. The loads and current drawn off are low in comparison to standard motor controllers. Little often do people realise with these cooling/heating systems - they can be tweaked to obtain maximum efficiency by an Electrician or Fridge mechanic with the knowledge of inverters. Some inverters come with a serial port connection and with the correct software can be programmed by use of a laptop PC.

The most efficient way to heat water is also using the refrigeration circuit (as someone has already said) but it can be aided by using solar water panels or solar conductors on the high side of the refrigeration circuit.

In summer you can literally heat your water with the condenser in the form of a coil inside your hot water tank, and also cool the inside of your home by ducting the evaporative side into the house.

Refrigeration is and can be a great way to meet all the needs of heating and cooling your home.

Another way of heating your home, and this may sound out of reach to many, but it's one I really like.

The idea of using geo-thermal natural heating, and no you do not need to be living ontop of a volcano. The system is this - A single hole is drilled down into the earth (along way down) maybe 200 metres or more. Black poly pipe is sent to the bottom and returned back to the top (basically it's a big U) this is connected on one side to a make up tank, the other side is fitted throughout the internal boundary walls of the house in layers of coils until all the internal boundary walls are covered (between the brickwork and the gyprock) the poly pipe then is returned to join the other side of the poly pipe that came out of the hole in the ground. The theory is that the heat in the earth so far down will start convection of water in the pipe and push it up and around the poly pipe circuit. This is natural heating, no electricity, no pumps, nothing at all. There is enough energy in the heat from the depth of the earth to start the heating of the water and movement of the water un-aided.
This is done in parts of Europe and Canada, no reason why it can't be done here as well.
 
This isn't a split system, but I've found the Noirot electric heaters to be relatively cost effective.

I agree, I've moved from a home that had gas heating to a home which only has these electric heaters. Thought it'd cost a fortune, but have been pleasantly surprised.
 
Not quite what I meant.

Think of a solar hot water heater (standard item) that sends the heated water through the house in pipes to wall panels. Using heated water is old technology - think of the boilers that lots of buildings overseas have in their basements. Using the sun to heat that water is easier for us because in most parts of the country we don't get snow that covers solar panels. So it's a closed system i.e. you don't connect it to a meter.

A bloke I knew years ago had this sort of system. The only mains power he needed was a connection to drive a small pump that circulated the water.

No idea what this sort of thing would cost to set up - probably hard to retrofit an existing house. But the running cost would be hardly anything.

I'm still tossing up how to heat my warehouse building, but winter will be gone soon in Sydney so I won't think about it again till this time next year when it gets cold again.

Slightly off topic, but the house in which I spent most of my youth had a wood fired heater that heated water and then pumped that hot water through (1"?) pipes in the slab.

Took about 12 hours to get warm, but that tiled floor was lovely to walk around on in winter!

Have seen similar, smaller scale (8mm pipes?) setups for bathrooms using the existing HWS.
 
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