Hot water vs heat pump savings.
See what you’ll save each year by swapping an old gas or electric hot water system for a modern heat pump. Includes the Victorian VEU rebate at the install-cost end and a payback-period projection over 10 years.
Your current setup
Energy prices
Install cost
Your projected savings
Payback in 2.0 years on a net install of $1,100 after the VEU rebate.
Estimate only. Real savings depend on your actual usage pattern, exact tariff, and the specific heat pump model. Reclaim CO₂ units perform better than R290 units in cold Melbourne mornings — worth ~10-15% more delivered heat over a year.
How the calculation works
Hot water energy demand depends on the volume you use and how much you have to heat it. Australian standard is ~50 L / person / day at ~50 °C — so a 4-person household uses ~200 L / day, which needs about 9-10 kWh of delivered heat energy daily.
Gas storage / continuous flow is ~75-85% efficient, so 10 kWh of delivered heat needs ~12-13 kWh of gas input (≈ 44 MJ / day).
Electric storage is 100% efficient at the element (1 kWh input = 1 kWh heat) but every kWh costs peak retail rates.
Heat pump pulls 3-4 kWh of heat out of the ambient air for every 1 kWh of electricity — so the same 10 kWh of delivered heat needs only ~2.5-3.5 kWh of input.
The VEU rebate in Victoria knocks up to $2,700 off a heat pump install (max at current $60-$75 VEEC prices), meaning most Pakenham swap-outs land under $1,000 out of pocket. Combined with the annual saving, the payback period is usually inside 4-6 years, and the unit is warrantied for at least a decade after that. See our rebate breakdown.
Ready to lock in the saving?
Send us your current unit — we’ll price the swap fixed with the VEU rebate applied.