What shapes heating in Ferntree Gully
On the plains, below the hills
For decades there was a divide between the hills people and the subdividers on the plains, and in 1963 the shire split, putting the plains into Knox. Ferntree Gully sits at about 150 metres, with Upper Ferntree Gully at its eastern edge.
The hills are colder
Up in the ranges, Mount Dandenong averages a July maximum of just 8.2 degrees and a minimum of 3.6, on Bureau of Meteorology figures. The closer you are to the hills, the more your heating matters.
1959 and the 1960s estates
The Mountain Gate Estate opened on 17 October 1959 as the 'town of a thousand homes'. The Johnson Park and Fairhills estates also started in 1959 and were mostly built on during the 1960s.
Wood heating goes back a long way
After World War I, cheap land and fibro houses with wood stoves let low income families make a living here.
Mostly owner occupied
At the 2021 Census, 88.0% of occupied homes were separate houses. 33.7% were owned outright and 21.2% rented.
Wood, gas or reverse cycle?
A wood heater. Knox City Council says a new one should meet Australian Standards AS 4013 and 4012, installed by a licensed person, with the flue the right height for the buildings around it. It also says to have it professionally checked and cleaned before the weather gets cold enough to use it.
Gas ducted. In a house from the 1960s estates, the ducts can be far older than the heater on the end of them. Seeley says ducted gas heaters need a service at least every two years.
Reverse cycle. The ACT Government guide says good systems still work at minus 10 degrees. Its example energy label shows heating capacity at 7 and at 2 degrees outside, so compare units on the 2 degree figure if your nights get close to the hills' averages. See reverse cycle in Melbourne.
Knox's hot weather advice includes checking that your fan or air conditioner works well before summer, so a spring service covers both seasons.
Licence-checked installers who do your kind of job near Ferntree Gully will see it. The one who takes it is the only one who gets your contact details, and if nobody near Ferntree Gully takes it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it too.
What we'd do
What we'd do near the hills
We'd size any new system for the coldest nights you actually get, not the city's average, and ask for its heating output at 2 degrees in writing. If you keep a wood heater, have it checked and the flue cleaned before winter. If it's the gas ducted heater that's tired, have the ducts looked at before you decide what replaces it.
