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Melbourne, Victoria

Heating and cooling in MelbourneWinter decides most jobs here. Summer still has its moments.

An installer for Melbourne

Licence-checked installers in Melbourne who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it calls you to quote.

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In Melbourne, heating is the bigger job. Half the home owners in a 2021 Victorian Government survey of gas areas mostly heated with gas ducted heating, and cold July nights are why. Summers are milder on average, but a hot north-westerly soon finds out a tired air conditioner. Where we have them, licence-checked Melbourne installers who specialise in the work see your job, and only the one who takes it gets your details.

What's different about heating and cooling in Melbourne

Cool nights most of the year

Bureau of Meteorology averages at Melbourne (Olympic Park) give a July mean minimum of 7.3 degrees and a January mean maximum of 26.6 degrees (1991 to 2020). Out at Melbourne Airport, a July night averages 5.8 degrees, and at Laverton in the west it's 5.0.

The suburbs aren't one climate

Viewbank, in the north-eastern suburbs, averages a January maximum of 28.2 degrees, while Mornington on the southern coast averages 25.0. In the hills, Mount Dandenong's July mean maximum is just 8.2 degrees.

Gas country

Environment Victoria and Renew report that 83% of Victorian households are on mains gas, and that three quarters of the gas used in Victorian homes goes on space heating. Many Melbourne jobs start with a gas heater that's already there.

A cold-zone city on the energy label

The example energy label in the ACT Government's buyer's guide puts Melbourne in the cold zone, with Canberra and Hobart, while the National Construction Code calls it climate zone 6, mild temperate. Either way, judge a reverse cycle system on its heating.

Mostly houses, plenty of renters

At the 2021 Census, 67.8% of Greater Melbourne's occupied private dwellings were separate houses and 15.6% were flats or apartments. 30.2% were rented, so Victoria's rental heating and cooling standards reach a lot of Melbourne homes.

The bay

Port Phillip is an enclosed bay with moderate waves, with St Kilda and Brighton on its east shore. It's gentler than a surf coast, but an outdoor unit close to the water still needs the right corrosion protection.

The jobs that come up most in Melbourne, and why

Gas ducted heating: servicing, repairs and replacement. In the JWS Research survey for the Victorian Government, 54% of home owners in gas areas had gas ducted heating. Each of those heaters needs a gasfitter on a regular cycle, and an old one raises the choice between another gas heater and ducted reverse cycle. Start with ducted heating in Melbourne.

Cooling a house that's already heated. 40% of the surveyed home owners mostly used heating-only gas ducted. In Melbourne, 43% cooled with single-unit reverse cycle air conditioners and 23% had ducted evaporative, so a split in the room that bakes, add-on cooling or an evaporative cooler are all common asks.

Splits for apartments. In a flat, and in the towers built in the city, Southbank and Docklands since the 2000s, a reverse cycle split is usually the most practical choice.

Do Victoria's gas rules mean you have to switch?

Not if you own your home. The Victorian Government's June 2025 gas reforms made no change to heating for owner occupiers. What does reach existing homes is hot water: from 1 March 2027, a gas hot water system at the end of its life must be replaced with an efficient electric one, such as a heat pump.

From 1 January 2027, every new Victorian home will be built all electric, including a Melbourne knock-down rebuild.

Rentals sit in between. From 1 March 2027, when the main living area heater in a rental fails and can't be repaired, Consumer Affairs Victoria says the replacement must be an energy efficient fixed electric system with an outlet in the main living area. A working gas heater can stay, and an efficient reverse cycle unit that meets the required ratings covers both the heating and cooling standards. See our rental heating guide and switching from gas to electric.

Who can do the work in Melbourne

In Victoria, installing or repairing reverse cycle is plumbing work, so the installer needs Building and Plumbing Commission registration as well as a refrigerant licence. Gas heaters are for a licensed gasfitter. Our Victorian licence page goes through each one.

Your phone number and email go to one installer, the one who takes your job, and we never sell them on. If no installer near you in Melbourne takes it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it too.

What we'd do

Where we'd start in Melbourne

If your gas ducted heater works, get it serviced before winter and leave it be. When it's near the end, compare a new gas heater with ducted reverse cycle in autumn, not in a cold snap. For summer, a split in the room you can't sleep in is often enough. And if you're a landlord, plan for the 2027 rental standards now.

From installers we pass jobs to

Recent jobs in Melbourne

A split system outdoor unit on a timber deck
A split system outdoor unit on a timber deck. Jul 2023. By a Melbourne installer we pass jobs to.
Lifting a new split system indoor unit into place
Lifting a new split system indoor unit into place. By a Melbourne installer we pass jobs to.
Two split system outdoor units on a roof deck
Two split system outdoor units on a roof deck. Aug 2022. By a Melbourne installer we pass jobs to.

More job photos

Heating and cooling jobs in Melbourne

Suburbs and areas around Melbourne

Questions people ask

Is Melbourne a heating or a cooling city?
Mostly heating. The energy label puts Melbourne in the cold zone, and July nights average 5.8 degrees at Melbourne Airport. Cooling still matters on the hot north-westerly days ahead of a cold front.
Do I have to get rid of my gas heating?
Not if you own the home. Victoria's 2025 reforms leave heating for owner occupiers unchanged. In rentals, the electric rule from 1 March 2027 only applies when the main heater permanently fails.
Will reverse cycle keep a Melbourne house warm?
Yes, if it's sized for winter. The ACT Government's guide says good systems still work at minus 10 degrees. Our Melbourne reverse cycle page covers choosing one.
Does evaporative cooling work in Melbourne?
On hot, dry days, yes. Melbourne Airport averages 44% afternoon humidity in January, and Seeley says evaporative struggles in humid air, so expect the odd sticky day when it can't keep up.
Can I get a VEU discount in Melbourne?
Possibly, on a system that both heats and cools, through an accredited provider. Gas heaters and evaporative coolers don't fit VEU's air conditioner categories, and the program is voluntary.

Ready for the right installer to take a look in Melbourne?

Your postcode and three quick questions. Licence-checked local installers who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it gets in touch to quote.

Free for you. Installers pay us for each job we pass on.

Read next

  1. 01Ducted heating in MelbourneGas ducted heating in Melbourne: when to replace, gas or reverse cycle, and the 2027 rules.
  2. 02Split system installation in MelbourneSplit systems in Melbourne homes: choosing on heating, placing the outdoor unit, and the rental rules.
  3. 03Victorian rental heating and cooling rulesWhat a rental's heater and cooler must be now and from 1 March 2027, and what can stay.
  4. 04Switching from gas heating to electricYour options for leaving gas heating, what the rules actually require, and what to ask before you sign.
  5. 05Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU)How VEU discounts work, what qualifies, the 2026 co-payments and the offers to walk away from.
  6. 06Heating and cooling in VictoriaVictoria's BPC and electrical rules, the two install certificates, and what 2027 changes for gas and rentals.

Where this information comes from

We don't publish prices. Every home is different, so an installer's written quote is the only real number. How we write and check these pages.

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