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Best Hot Water Systems
Nothing can sour your day quite like a shower turning cold, which is why you want a reliable hot water system that’s suited to your household. We go through what to consider when looking for a water heater, including your water use, energy efficiency, costs, and more. Continue reading...
Thermann 6 Star Continuous Flow
· includes 3 listingsLatest review: Copes really well with high demand. Only issue with water temp has been when the power has tripped and we forget to turn the switch back on. Other minor thing is it does take slightly longer for hot
Price (RRP) $1,054.68 to $1,299.24
- Build Quality4.0 (12)
- Value for Money3.5 (15)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 4.1 (9)
- Noise Level4.4 (11)
- Temperature Consistency3.4 (16)
- Heating Speed3.6 (16)
Rheem Stellar/RheemPlus 5 Star
· includes 5 listingsLatest review: Installed our Rheem 18 months ago but found the pilot light keeps going out randomly. It has done this since new but started to get worse after the 12 month warranty was up. Paid a plumber $400 to
- Build Quality3.3 (18)
- Value for Money3.6 (17)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 4.1 (15)
- Noise Level4.2 (15)
- Temperature Consistency3.4 (16)
- Heating Speed4.0 (15)
AquaMAX G390SS
Latest review: installed march 2021. pilot light easy to relight but I shouldn't have to do it so often! Previous unit was a vulcan that never missed a best i over 20 years. This unit has been a disappointing
- Build Quality4.5 (6)
- Value for Money4.2 (6)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 4.3 (6)
- Noise Level4.7 (7)
- Temperature Consistency4.3 (6)
- Heating Speed4.5 (6)
Bosch Compress 3000
Latest review: Purchased it in Apr 2017 and in the period of 4 years, had it repaired twice under warranty and twice out of warranty. Heating of the water during winter is bad. Won't be buying another heat pump or
- Build Quality2.8 (13)
- Value for Money2.4 (18)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 2.7 (13)
- Noise Level3.1 (16)
- Temperature Consistency3.2 (13)
- Heating Speed3.2 (13)
Solahart L Series
Latest review: Product is relatively new, have problems supplying hot water, called local service line, came twice and told me nothing wrong with the unit, but problems still exist, no hot water, they wanted me to
- Build Quality3.3 (4)
- Value for Money3.0 (4)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 3.7 (3)
- Noise Level5.0 (2)
- Temperature Consistency4.3 (3)
- Heating Speed4.0 (3)
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Dux Prodigy 5
· includes 10 listingsLatest review: Had the 3-star Prodigy for 10 years. Decided to upgrade to the 5-star unit. Pleased I did. Gas bill has reduced. Installer did the swap over in about 2 hours. All smooth and no issues. I recommend
- Build Quality2.9 (72)
- Value for Money3.1 (72)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 3.2 (61)
- Noise Level3.8 (63)
- Temperature Consistency3.6 (71)
- Heating Speed3.7 (73)
Rheem Rheemglas Water Series
· includes 16 listingsLatest review: I just replaced the old hot water system in our house (101 series 250L Electric storage)after 27 years, as it was starting to not heat sometimes and the water wasn't as hot. Checked inside for the
- Build Quality3.0 (2)
- Value for Money3.0 (2)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 5.0 (1)
- Noise Level5.0 (1)
Quantum Energy AC4 Series
· includes 5 listingsLatest review: Purchased in 2018 on plumbers advice, wish I’d read these reviews beforehand! Had it checked by an independent mechanic, the compressor had gone. The service call centre is manned by a very a
- Build Quality1.7 (22)
- Value for Money1.6 (22)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 2.1 (21)
- Noise Level2.1 (21)
- Temperature Consistency3.0 (18)
- Heating Speed2.8 (17)
Rinnai B26
Latest review: Had an early model B26 for over 10 years until it started leaking water - so got it replaced , however you can only buy the 50 deg model now - you can increase to 55degs from memory , but that is
- Build Quality2.8 (31)
- Value for Money2.7 (31)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 3.0 (25)
- Noise Level3.2 (29)
- Temperature Consistency3.0 (29)
- Heating Speed2.4 (32)
Midea 280L HP280
Latest review: Have not tried high demand yet but had to call service about display which I thought was not working. They were very helpful but said I had view from a step ladder at night to see the display. The
- Build Quality3.1 (9)
- Value for Money3.7 (9)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 3.3 (9)
- Noise Level3.4 (8)
- Temperature Consistency3.4 (8)
- Heating Speed3.4 (9)
Rinnai B16
Latest review: Does anyone else get a whining and clicking noise inside the room of the house where the HWS sits. It just happens to be my study. Its gradually got louder over the last year or so with the installer
- Build Quality3.6 (8)
- Value for Money3.4 (8)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 3.4 (8)
- Noise Level3.9 (8)
- Temperature Consistency3.6 (7)
- Heating Speed3.7 (7)
Chromagen Eternity 26
Latest review: We had a Eternity 26 installed 15 years ago. Since then its been going fine no issues. I'm now thinking it might be time to get it serviced. Not yet clear what a service consists of. If its just
- Build Quality3.2 (10)
- Value for Money3.2 (10)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 3.2 (9)
- Noise Level3.8 (10)
- Temperature Consistency3.0 (8)
- Heating Speed2.6 (8)
Run On Sun ROSAHP250EL
Latest review: I've had a 24 tub one of these for a few years now & only had to back it up once with my 50 lt elec one . It cost me around $ 2400 with freight so easy to set up , don't know why i didn't have one
- Build Quality5.0 (1)
- Value for Money5.0 (1)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 5.0 (1)
- Temperature Consistency4.0 (1)
- Heating Speed4.0 (1)
Bosch HydroPower
· includes 3 listingsLatest review: Less than 2 years old. It wont fire up. Piezo firing, but no gas. Called plumber and he removed wire gauze and blew in the opening- cleared whatever there and it worked. What have i done to deserve
- Build Quality2.2 (23)
- Value for Money1.9 (23)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 2.1 (18)
- Noise Level3.1 (17)
- Temperature Consistency2.2 (25)
- Heating Speed2.2 (25)
Rheem Continuous Flow
· includes 22 listingsLatest review: I was in a panic when my Junkers blew -literally-I went from a Junkers which had been on the wall for 30 years + to this Rheem which does not provide instant hot water as advised by the plumbing
- Build Quality2.2 (10)
- Value for Money1.5 (13)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 2.9 (7)
- Noise Level3.4 (7)
- Temperature Consistency2.2 (13)
- Heating Speed1.8 (13)
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SolarOz Mains Pressure
Latest review: Not fit for sale, I don’t see how this product paced any type of testing to be sold in Australia. Needs further RND, buy something more know and reliable as it not a cheap exercise to exchange. Sorry
- Build Quality1.0 (1)
- Value for Money1.0 (1)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 1.0 (1)
- Noise Level1.0 (1)
- Temperature Consistency1.0 (1)
- Heating Speed1.0 (1)
Country Comfort Portable LPG Water Heater
Latest review: I purchased a Country Comfort Hot water system 3 years ago and for the last 2 years I have used it every day and it is still working great. Whenever I have needed assistance the team have been
- Build Quality5.0 (4)
- Value for Money4.8 (4)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 4.8 (4)
- Noise Level4.0 (4)
- Temperature Consistency5.0 (4)
- Heating Speed5.0 (4)
Thermann Large Electric Storage
· includes 12 listingsLatest review: Seems to work great, for the first 24 months. Brand new thermann unit installed only 2 years ago, and is already having issues and gas outages (not from using too much gas) then having to wait an
Price (RRP) $783.30 to $1,808.08
- Build Quality2.4 (14)
- Value for Money2.1 (15)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 2.9 (12)
- Noise Level3.7 (11)
- Temperature Consistency3.2 (11)
- Heating Speed3.3 (10)
Bosch Pilot Ignition
· includes 2 listingsLatest review: The worst unit. If you want unreliable hot water buy one of these. Absolute
- Build Quality2.4 (5)
- Value for Money2.8 (5)
- Cleaning & Maintenance 1.3 (3)
- Noise Level3.5 (4)
- Temperature Consistency3.3 (4)
- Heating Speed4.0 (4)
Gleamous GL5
Latest review: I was really looking forward to using the GL6 unit. We installed it with a plumber as per the instructions and unfortunately we could NOT have a hot shower. Barely warm! The flow rate was so low to
- Build Quality4.0 (1)
- Value for Money1.0 (1)
- Noise Level5.0 (1)
- Temperature Consistency1.0 (1)
- Heating Speed1.0 (1)
Types of hot water systems
Heating water for use in the bathroom, kitchen, and laundry uses over a quarter of the average household’s energy, which is why it’s important to carefully consider what kind of hot water system is right for you.
You’ll have to first decide what kind of heating method you want to use for your hot water system: gas, electric, solar, or heat pump.
Gas hot water systems · See All
Gas is quite an efficient energy source, so it can be a good option if you have a natural gas connection. Natural gas is significantly cheaper than LPG.
These systems are usually installed outdoors because they need adequate ventilation, but they can be installed indoors with a flue.
Pros
Cons
Electric hot water systems · See All
Electric water heating is relatively cheap to buy and install, but ongoing costs can be expensive. However, if your meter includes off-peak rates, then this should be cheaper.
Pros
Cons
Solar hot water systems · See All
A solar hot water system needs to be installed in a sunny spot for it to be efficient. This means that they do tend to work better in certain parts of Australia, particularly Queensland and the Northern Territory. You might even want to buy a larger tank for days with less sun or when you want to use more hot water.
Most of these systems will still have either a gas or electric booster to ensure that hot water is always available, regardless of the climate.
Pros
Cons
Heat pump hot water systems
Heat pump systems use electricity to transfer heat from one place to another rather than directly generating heat. These units need to be installed in a place with good ventilation, generally outdoors. Heat pump models can save you up to 80% on the cost of hot water compared to an electric storage system.
Pros
Cons
Storage vs instantaneous hot water systems
A hot water system can be either an instant system or a storage tank system.
Instant systems
Also called continuous hot water systems, these only heat water when they're needed. They aren’t actually instant, but they usually just take a few seconds before you get hot water. Most models use gas, but you can still find electric models, which are typically only designed to heat water for a single water outlet.
A continuous flow system can be more suited to smaller households, as they’re cheaper to run and more practical than having a storage tank.
f you’re considering an instant hot water system, then you should consider its flow rate. You should opt for a higher flow rate if you have many water outlets in your home. A general rule of thumb is to get a flow rate of around 22 to 24L per minute for a house with two bathrooms.
Storage tank systems
These store a certain amount of heated water that can then be used throughout the day. Most gas, electric, solar, and heat pump systems use a tank.
They’re generally more cost-effective and so can be suited to households that use a lot of hot water; you just need to ensure you get a large enough tank to ensure the last in line for a shower isn’t left in the lurch mid-rinse.
If you have off-peak electricity available to your home, then these systems can take advantage of these cheaper tariffs.
These tanks are insulated, but it’s still a good idea to install them in an insulated or sunny place to minimise heat loss.
What to consider when choosing a hot water system
There are a few other things you should consider when shopping around.
Your household size and energy use
Understanding the hot water needs of your household is key to getting the right hot water system. An undersized system means that someone will probably miss out on a hot shower, while a system that’s too large will mean you’re paying for something that you’re not fully using.
The average Australian uses around 40 to 50L of hot water per day - more if you take long hot showers or often use hot water to wash clothes.
Here’s a rough size guide for water heaters, but you should also consult the manufacturer of a hot water system you’re considering buying as well as seek advice from an installer.
For storage tank systems, consider the number of people in your household:
- A 1-2 person household could be fine with a small storage tank of around 90L.
- A 4-person household will need around 135-170L.
- Households of 5 people or more may find it more economical to find a large tank of between 200-300L than install multiple continuous systems.
For continuous hot water systems, consider the number of hot water outlets in your home and peak usage:
- A 2-bathroom household will need 22-24L/min flow rate.
- If you expect 2 people to be showering at the same time, you need at least a flow rate of 14L/min.
- There’s also the option to install multiple systems and have them in different parts of your home.
Energy efficiency
The most efficient type of hot water systems are heat pump and solar water heating systems.
If you’re shopping for an electric storage system, a gas storage system, or an instant gas hot water system, look for Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS). You may see energy efficiency ratings on gas systems, but these aren’t government regulated.
Price
Excluding installation, prepare to pay the following upfront:
- Gas hot water systems often cost between $900 and $2000.
- Electric hot water systems usually cost somewhere between $500 and $2000.
- Solar hot water system prices can vary a lot, but usually cost between $4000 and $8000.
- Heat pump models range from $2000 to $4000.
Hot water system installation costs vary a lot depending on the job and system you opt for. If you’re switching out your current hot water system with one of the same capacity and in the same location, installation typically ranges from $300 to $700. If you’re moving the system to another location, then you may have to pay between $1100 and $2500 depending on what kind of plumbing and electrical work is required.
You should also check for warranties. While these vary, most hot water systems should come with a warranty of at least 7 years - the longer the warranty, the more the manufacturer backs the quality.
Look for government rebates and incentives
There are a range of incentives offered by the federal and state governments - such as the federal government’s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme - for households to switch to energy-efficient hot water systems, particularly solar and heat pump systems.
A hot water system installer may also be able to tell you of rebates that are available to those living in your area.