What's particular about Ivanhoe homes
A between-the-wars suburb
Victorian Places dates Ivanhoe's big residential push to 1910 to 1930, when the population went from 2013 to 7701. A.V. Jennings built his first estate, Beaumont, on Melcombe Road in 1938, and the outer streets filled in after the war. Houses of that age weren't designed around ducted heating, so any ducts went in later.
Houses, townhouses and flats
At the 2021 Census, 52.8% of Ivanhoe's homes were separate houses, 22.2% semi-detached or townhouses and 24.6% flats or apartments. Each points to a different system.
One home in three is rented
32.6% of Ivanhoe households were renting in 2021. Victoria's tougher rental heating and cooling standards begin on 1 March 2027, so landlords are a big part of the local work here.
Warmer summers than the city
Bureau of Meteorology figures for Viewbank give a January mean maximum of 28.2 degrees, against 26.6 at Olympic Park. July nights there still average 6.0 degrees, so heating stays the bigger job.
The jobs most likely to come up in Ivanhoe
An old gas ducted heater in an interwar or postwar house. Get it serviced first. If it's near the end, you're choosing between another gas heater and ducted reverse cycle. Ask about the ducts either way: the ACT Government's guide says ducts from a gas system are too narrow to reuse for reverse cycle.
A split for a flat. In one of Ivanhoe's flats, a single reverse cycle split in the living area usually does the heating and cooling. The owners corporation will want a say on the outdoor unit and the pipe run, so ask for its rules before anyone quotes.
Townhouses on shared walls. EPA Victoria says a unit on heat mustn't be heard in a neighbour's habitable room after 10pm on weeknights, or after 11pm on cooling. Keep the outdoor unit clear of next door's bedroom.
Worth asking before you say yes
- If you're replacing my gas ducted heater with reverse cycle, does the quote include new ducts?
- Where exactly will the outdoor unit sit, and how close is it to the neighbours' bedrooms?
- For a flat, what will the owners corporation need from you before work starts?
What we'd do
Our take for Ivanhoe
In a house, have the existing heater serviced and the ducts looked at before deciding anything big. If it's near the end of its life, compare a new gas heater with ducted reverse cycle while the old one still runs, not in a July cold snap. In a flat, start with one well-placed split in the living room and check the owners corporation rules first.
Getting someone out to look
Send us the job and your postcode. Licence-checked installers around Ivanhoe who do that work can see it, and only the one who takes it gets your details. If no one around Ivanhoe picks it up within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it too.
