Canberra facts for a ducted heating decision
Heating is the big load
The ACT Government says heating is about 60% of the average Canberra household's energy use. A whole-house system carries most of that.
Lots of gas homes
Evoenergy has over 140,000 gas customers on the ACT network, against over 200,000 electricity customers.
The phase-out
No new gas network connections in residential zones since 8 December 2023, a 2045 goal to phase out fossil fuel gas, and parts of the network likely to shut from the mid-2030s.
Heating from autumn to spring
Frosts can come early and late: the ABS logged the first on 12 April and the last on 17 November in 2006.
Replacing gas ducted: the two routes
A new gas ducted heater on the existing connection keeps the job smaller, because sound ducts can often stay. But it puts a new appliance on a network the ACT plans to wind down.
Ducted reverse cycle is the bigger job. The ACT Government's guide says gas ducts are too narrow for it and may have age-related issues, so expect new ducting throughout. In return you get cooling too, and the ACT Government says reverse cycle has much lower running costs than gas.
Some owners also look at add-on cooling, which keeps the gas heater and adds a cooling unit to the same ducts. Rinnai says not every ducted heater can support it.
Ducts, vents and Mr Fluffy
In affected Canberra homes, Mr Fluffy asbestos fibres were found in some heating and cooling ducts and vents. Look for the safety tag at the meter box and switchboard. If it's there, or you're not sure, don't lift outlets, pull grilles or go into the roof, and tell the installer before any visit.
Keeping a gas ducted heater safe
Energy Safe Victoria includes central heating units among the gas heaters that can spill carbon monoxide, and says to have gas heaters serviced at least every two years by a qualified gasfitter. Seeley's technician guide says over-temperature faults usually come from restricted airflow, such as a dirty return air filter or too few outlets open.
If the heater keeps locking out, don't keep resetting it. Seeley tells its own technicians not to do that without finding the cause. Our Canberra gas heater service page covers the safety check, and ducted heating service goes into the ducted side.
What a Canberra ducted heating quote should show
- A heat load for the house, sized for a frosty night rather than copied from the old heater.
- Whether the ducts are reused or replaced, and their insulation rating. The ACT guide says at least R1.5.
- For gas, the star rating. Seeley says more stars means a more efficient heater.
- For reverse cycle, the rated heating capacity and input power.
- The zones, and where the controller and sensors go.
- Who disconnects the old gas heater, and their gasfitter licence.
- How the roof space will be handled in a Mr Fluffy home.
What we'd do
Our call
If the gas ducted heater still works well, we'd keep it serviced every two years and get a ducted reverse cycle quote now, while nothing's urgent. When it fails, we'd replace it with reverse cycle rather than another gas heater, given where the ACT is heading. And we'd have a ducted heating specialist look at the ducts and the roof space first, because that's where the surprises hide.
