A gas furnace in the roof or against an outside wall, ducted to vents through the house. It's still the least expensive way to heat a whole Melbourne home through winter, and the fastest to bring a cold house up to temperature, which is why most homes built here since 1990 have one.
A gas furnace in the roof or against an outside wall, ducted to vents through the house. Still the least expensive way to heat a whole Melbourne home through winter, and the fastest to bring one up from cold.
Star rating is the number. The difference between a 3-star and a 5-star unit is a running cost you pay every winter for fifteen years. We'll show you both prices and what the gap actually pays back in.
You're reading about gas ducted heating. Here it is next to everything else we fit, in case it isn't the one.
A gas furnace in the roof or against an outside wall, ducted to vents through the house. Still the least expensive way to heat a whole Melbourne home through winter, and the fastest to bring one up from cold.
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Heats water on demand, so it never runs out and there's no tank losing heat overnight. Wall-mounted outside and about the size of a briefcase.
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An annual check of the burner, heat exchanger and flue, with a carbon monoxide test on the running appliance. This is the one that matters, a cracked heat exchanger has no smell and no warning.
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A temporary unit plumbed in the same day so the house has hot water while you decide what to replace the old one with. $30 a day, and the $350 set-up and removal is waived if we do the replacement.
See the full detailA gas ducted heater goes in one of three places, and which one you have was decided when the house was built: a cupboard inside, a slab against an outside wall, or up in the roof. A like-for-like replacement goes straight back into the same spot, on the same ducts, with the same controller wiring.
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A cracked heat exchanger puts carbon monoxide into the air the house is breathing, silently. No smell, no alarm in most homes, and early symptoms that read as a bad night's sleep. It is the one reason we will not quietly let a heater past ten years go unserviced.
Most homes built across this corridor from the 80s to the 2010s went in with gas ducted heating, and a lot of those heaters are now at the age where the question is repair or replace. Each suburb below has its own page on the houses there and what we find in them.
Send us a picture of the data plate and the cupboard or slab it's sitting on. Most like-for-like ducted replacements can be quoted properly off that without anyone driving out.
On a like-for-like the existing cavity, ductwork and controller wiring usually all reuse, which is what keeps it a day rather than a rebuild. We check rather than assume, because a collapsed duct in the roof changes the job.
3-star and 6-star side by side with your gas usage against them. You get the payback maths, not just a recommendation.
Old heater disconnected, drained where relevant, off the pad and onto the truck for the metal recycler. New unit set, connected and sealed.
Pressure tested to AS/NZS 5601 standing and working, burner checked through its range, controller programmed and the house brought up to temperature while we're still there.
Calibrated analyser on the new unit, result written on the report, and the gas compliance certificate emailed inside 24 hours rather than chased three weeks later.
Kaden gas ducted drops onto an existing Brivis or Braemar footprint and prices similarly. Duct rework, a new gas run where the existing line is undersized, and cavity alterations are the three things that add, all quoted before the day.
Every model, spec and installed price sits on the brand page. One press each, or open the full list and filter it yourself.
60 seconds, no obligation, replied within 12 business hours. Rebates applied and GST included, so the number you get is the number you pay.
Nearly always. Brivis and Kaden internal units are built to drop into the existing cavity, and the ducts, return-air grille and controller wiring usually reuse. That's what keeps it a one-day job.
On a house you're staying in, generally yes, the efficiency difference shows up every winter. On a house you're selling in two years, probably not. We'll show you where the crossover lands rather than just pushing the dearer one.
A like-for-like internal swap is usually a single day. External or a first-time install with new ductwork runs longer, and we'll say which at the quote.
A like-for-like Brivis Wombat replacement starts from $4,800 supplied and installed, and a higher-spec Brivis Buffalo from $5,600, with the old unit removed and a compliance certificate. Ductwork that needs replacing, a gas line that needs upsizing or a move from internal to external adds to that, and we tell you which at the quote rather than on the day.
If you also want cooling, price both. Reverse-cycle ducted heats and cools from one system, and the VEU rebate can take up to $4,200 off a gas-to-reverse-cycle switch, which narrows the gap a lot. If the house only needs heating and the ducts are sound, a like-for-like gas swap is still the cheaper job on the day. We'll quote both side by side if you ask.
“Took the old gas Rinnai out, dropped in a Reclaim heat pump, sorted the VEU rebate so it came straight off the price. Bloke on the phone is the bloke on the tools, refreshing.”
“The VEU paperwork looked scary online. They filled it all in, I signed once at the quote and once on the day. Rebate was already in the price. Painless.”
“Quote number matched the invoice exactly. No 'we hit unexpected wiring' story at the end. Nice change.”
“Bedroom Mitsubishi went in before lunch. Neat pipework, brackets straight, temp checked before they left. Would use again for the lounge.”
“Took the old gas Rinnai out, dropped in a Reclaim heat pump, sorted the VEU rebate so it came straight off the price. Bloke on the phone is the bloke on the tools, refreshing.”
“The VEU paperwork looked scary online. They filled it all in, I signed once at the quote and once on the day. Rebate was already in the price. Painless.”
“Quote number matched the invoice exactly. No 'we hit unexpected wiring' story at the end. Nice change.”
“Bedroom Mitsubishi went in before lunch. Neat pipework, brackets straight, temp checked before they left. Would use again for the lounge.”
“Answered the phone myself, quoted the job, showed up to install the job. That trail of trust doesn't exist with most of the bigger mobs anymore.”
“Hot water died on a Sunday with three kids in the house. Answered the phone, had a temp loaner running by lunch, new iStore in on Tuesday. That's service.”
“A week after install they rang to check the heat pump was running quiet and the app was set up. First tradie who's ever followed up after payment cleared.”
“Answered the phone myself, quoted the job, showed up to install the job. That trail of trust doesn't exist with most of the bigger mobs anymore.”
“Hot water died on a Sunday with three kids in the house. Answered the phone, had a temp loaner running by lunch, new iStore in on Tuesday. That's service.”
“A week after install they rang to check the heat pump was running quiet and the app was set up. First tradie who's ever followed up after payment cleared.”
“Had three quotes for a ducted system. These guys were the only ones who actually crawled into the roof. Middle of the pack on price but installed cleaner than the others would have.”
“Full ducted retrofit over two days. When they left the roof cavity was tidier than they found it and the driveway had been swept. Small thing but it matters.”
“Walked me through the Milieu tablet, showed the wife how to use it, showed us the compliance cert. Ten minutes of teaching that other installers just skip.”
“Had three quotes for a ducted system. These guys were the only ones who actually crawled into the roof. Middle of the pack on price but installed cleaner than the others would have.”
“Full ducted retrofit over two days. When they left the roof cavity was tidier than they found it and the driveway had been swept. Small thing but it matters.”
“Walked me through the Milieu tablet, showed the wife how to use it, showed us the compliance cert. Ten minutes of teaching that other installers just skip.”
