Hobart facts that shape a ducted heating job
A long, cool season
Hobart is in climate zone 7. Battery Point averages a July low of 5.2 degrees and Hobart Airport at Cambridge 4.4, so a ducted system here does months of steady work.
Is gas on your street?
Tas Gas Networks laid pipe through Hobart's urban areas in a first stage finished in July 2005, then extended it in a second stage finished in April 2007. Gas is available to more than 58,000 Tasmanian properties, so check your address before planning a gas furnace.
Bungalows and post-war homes
Hobart's bungalows were mass-produced in weatherboard and then fibro, and post-war housing is common. 85.1% of Greater Hobart homes are separate houses. Seeley says a ducted gas heater can sit in the roof, under the floor or outside, and the ACT Government says a ducted reverse cycle unit usually goes in the ceiling or under the house.
Summer, sometimes
Northerly winds can still push Hobart above 35 degrees. A ducted heat pump cools on those days through the same ducts; a gas furnace doesn't.
Rentals
28.8% of Greater Hobart homes are rented. Tasmania's rental minimum standards need a heating device in a room that may be used as the main living area, and a heat pump or a fixed gas heater are among the listed types.
Gas furnace or ducted heat pump?
Gas warms a house fast, the ACT Government says, but reverse cycle is much cheaper to keep running. Its guide also says good reverse cycle systems keep working when it's -10 degrees outside, so Hobart's light frosts are well within range.
Switching is a bigger job than it looks. The same guide says gas ducts can't be reused for ducted reverse cycle, because they're too narrow and may have age-related issues. If your gas furnace is healthy and you only want summer cooling, Rinnai says some compatible gas heaters can take add-on cooling through the existing ducts.
Ducted systems lose a little heat through their ducts, the ACT guide notes, which makes them slightly less efficient than splits. That's the trade for even warmth through the whole house from one system.
Gas furnaces and carbon monoxide
Energy Safe Victoria's warning holds in Tasmania too: every gas heater, from a wall furnace to a central ducted unit, can spill carbon monoxide, and you won't smell it. Headaches, dizziness, nausea, or people and pets unwell at the same time are the signs. If you suspect it, get everyone outside, turn off the gas appliances and open windows and doors on the way out if you can, and call 000 in an emergency. If you smell gas, shut it off at the meter or cylinder only if that's safe, put out flames, leave electrical switches and devices alone, air the house, keep people away and ring the emergency number on your gas bill. Either way, the heater stays off until a licensed gasfitter has checked it.
What makes a Hobart ducted job bigger or smaller
The simplest job is a new gas furnace in the same spot, on ducts in good condition. It grows when the ducts are old or poorly insulated, when you add zones, or when you switch to a ducted heat pump and need new ducting throughout.
Insulation matters twice in a cold city. The ACT Government's guide recommends at least R1.5 on ducting and says suppliers may not provide it by default, and it notes that ducts through the ceiling reduce the ceiling's insulation. In an older weatherboard bungalow, ask what state the roof space and subfloor are in before ducts go in.
A ducted heat pump's outdoor unit is bigger than a split's, and EPA Tasmania's guideline limits heat pump noise to 40dB(A) between 10pm and 7am, measured a metre from the neighbour's nearest wall. Where it goes matters.
Questions to ask a Hobart ducted heating installer
- Is gas available at my address, and would you recommend it here?
- Are you reusing my ducts, and what did you find when you inspected them?
- What insulation rating will the new ducts have?
- What heating output will a ducted heat pump give on a frosty morning?
- Who does the gas-fitting, plumbing, electrical and refrigerant work, and what Tasmanian licences do they hold?
- Can I see your contractor's licence for this class of work?
- Where would the heat pump's outdoor unit sit, and how much noise does it make at night?
What we'd do
Where we'd start in Hobart
If you have a working gas furnace, we'd keep it serviced and only look at add-on cooling if summer bothers you. If you're starting fresh or the furnace is failing, we'd have a ducted heat pump quoted first, because gas isn't available everywhere and heat pumps cope with Hobart's frosts. Either way, a ducted heating specialist should check the ducts and insulation before anyone talks about the unit.
