Heating and cooling in GeelongTwo seasons, one system, and salt air near the bay.

What makes Geelong different for heating and cooling?

Geelong sits in climate zone 6 under the National Construction Code, the mild temperate zone it shares with Melbourne and Bendigo. That's a proper winter and a proper summer, so a system that only heats, or only cools, leaves part of the year uncovered.

It's dry, too. Around 525.2 mm of rain a year makes Geelong one of the driest cities in Australia, and westerly winds dominate.

Averages don't size a system on their own. Geelong's record high is 47.4 degrees, from 7 February 2009, and its record low is -4.3, from 24 July 1997. ActronAir says an air conditioner loses cooling capacity above 35 degrees, so a good installer allows for the hot days as well as the typical ones.

The jobs that come up most in Geelong, and why

Moving from gas and evaporative to reverse cycle. Renew's 2021 modelling for Environment Victoria took a 200m2 detached Geelong home with gas heating and evaporative cooling as its basic dual-fuel case. The all-electric versions, heated and cooled by a reverse cycle heat pump, came out significantly cheaper to run. If that's your setup, a whole-home reverse cycle install is worth getting quoted before the old gear fails.

One split for the room you live in. A split system is the smallest step to heating and cooling with one unit. In a 2021 Victorian Government survey, 53% of regional home owners in gas areas used single-unit reverse cycle air conditioners for cooling.

Servicing for both seasons. A unit that runs in February and July earns its yearly service, and near the bay that's the visit where corrosion gets spotted.

Gas heaters and hydronic. Energy Safe Victoria says gas heaters need servicing at least every two years: see gas heater servicing in Geelong. For warmth without blown air, there's hydronic heating.

Renting or letting in Geelong?

More than a quarter of Greater Geelong homes are rented. A working gas heater can stay, but from 1 March 2027, when the main living area heater permanently fails, its replacement must be energy efficient and electric. New and month-to-month agreements need fixed cooling in the main living area from the same date, and every rental from 1 July 2030. Our rental heating guide covers the detail.

Who can do the work, and where VEU fits

Installing a split in Victoria is plumbing work, so the installer needs registration with the Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) plus an ARC refrigerant licence, and new wiring is for a licensed electrician. See our Victorian licence page.

Some systems that both heat and cool can get a Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) discount through an accredited provider. The program is voluntary, there's always a co-payment, and gas heaters and evaporative coolers aren't covered. Our VEU guide explains it.

Tell us the job and your postcode. Licence-checked installers near Geelong who specialise in that work see it, where we have them, and your contact details go only to the one who takes it. If nobody around Geelong takes it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it too.