Templestowe's homes and weather
Late to fill in
Templestowe was scarcely populated until the expansion of the 1970s. It was once part of Melbourne's green belt, where many parts couldn't be subdivided into lots of less than 2 hectares.
Lots of bedrooms
61.7% of Templestowe's 5,717 occupied homes had four or more bedrooms in 2021, and 77.6% were separate houses. Another 18.6% were semi-detached or townhouses.
Long-term owners
47.0% of homes were owned outright and 35.3% with a mortgage. Only 14.0% were rented.
Warm north-east summers, cool winters
Viewbank, the Bureau's north-eastern suburbs station, averages 28.2 degrees on January days and 14.0 on July days, with July nights averaging 6.0. Templestowe itself is bordered by the Yarra, with gentle hills rising east of the flood plains.
Replacing a big ducted system
If your house has its original gas ducted heater, or a second one from decades ago, the choice is a new gas heater, ducted reverse cycle, or gas with add-on cooling. In a home that needs proper summer cooling as well, ducted reverse cycle does both jobs from one system.
Look at the whole job, not just the unit. The ACT Government guide says gas ducts can't be reused for reverse cycle, and that large ducted installs may need an upgrade to 3-phase power. In a two-storey or spread-out house, ask how many zones you'll get and where the outdoor unit will sit. A big block often gives more choice of spot, so use it to keep the unit away from bedrooms, yours and the neighbours'.
Signs an old gas ducted heater is near the end
- A yellow or sooty flame, a pilot light that goes out or pops and bangs when it lights, or soot stains around the heater. Better Health lists all of these as warning signs.
- It locks out and you keep resetting it. Seeley's technician guide says not to do that without finding the cause.
- Rooms at the far end never get warm, even with the filter clean and outlets open.
- It's well past 15 years old, the age at which Solar Victoria says a system typically uses over three times the energy of a modern reverse cycle unit.
What we'd do
Where we'd start in Templestowe
Get the old heater serviced and safety checked first, so you know whether it's a choice or an emergency. If it's near the end and summers bother you, we'd get ducted reverse cycle quoted with new insulated ducts and at least separate living and sleeping zones. If it's healthy, add-on cooling may do, if your model is compatible.
Share the job and your 3106 postcode with us. Licence-checked local installers who take on ducted and whole-house work see it, and your details go only to the one who accepts. If no one near Templestowe accepts it within 48 hours, installers elsewhere in Victoria may see it too.
