Are you in the market for a new hot water system? If you are and you’ve done some research, you’ll probably know that a hot water installation’s price goes far further than just a price tag. After the cost of purchasing, there are several other aspects you’ll need to consider from installation to ongoing running costs.
In this post, we’ll deal with what you need to consider when calculating the price of a hot water system in more detail.
Table of Contents
The Size of the System
The first thing you’ll need to consider is the size of the system. This is because the size of the system will largely depend on the amount of hot water you need. So, if you have a large household, you’ll likely need a larger system and, by implication, need to pay more. Likewise, if you have a smaller household, you can get by with a smaller, cheaper system.
The Type of System
Once you’ve decided on the size of the system, you’ll need to decide what type of system you need. Here, you have quite a few options, each with its own benefits and pricing level:
- Gas heaters. Gas hot water systems use natural gas to heat your water. They’re available as tank-based systems, which are cheaper, and on-demand systems, which are more efficient.
- Electric systems. As the name suggests, these systems use electricity to heat your water. They cost about the same as gas systems, but they could end up being more expensive in the long run as gas is cheaper than electricity.
- Solar systems. These systems, that use the sun to heat your water, are some of the most cost-effective systems when it comes to running costs. However, they are more expensive to install.
- Split heat pumps. Heat pumps are the most efficient type of water heater as they use ambient heat to heat your water. However, like solar systems, they are more expensive to install.
Installation Costs
You’ve now decided what type of water heating system you would like. So, you’ll now be able to get an idea of its installation costs. Installation costs vary based on the specific system, your unique installation requirements, accessibility, and labour costs.
Generally, solar and heat pump systems have the highest installation costs. However, you should consider that these systems have lower running costs which, to an extent, can be set off against the installation costs over time. In other words, the system ends up paying for itself.
Running Costs
At this stage, you know what size and type of system you’ll use and how much it costs to install. Another important component of the cost of the system is its running costs. Here, electric systems have the highest running costs, with gas tank-based systems coming in second. In turn, on-demand gas systems have lower running costs and solar and heat pump systems are the cheapest to operate.
Government Rebates
Finally, you should also factor government rebates into your estimation. These rebates incentivise more efficient hot water systems and you can, for example, get a reduction of up to $1200 when you install a solar hot water system.
There you go, now you know how to calculate the price of a hot water system. If you want to know more about hot water systems, how much they cost, and which is best to meet your needs, get in touch with
