High Wycombe in brief
Right by the airport
High Wycombe is about 18 km east of the CBD and directly east of Perth Airport. The Bureau's Perth Airport station (009021) records a mean daily maximum of 31.8 degrees in January, against 29.8 at Swanbourne.
At the foot of the scarp
The suburb sits at the base of the Darling Scarp, which locals call the foothills. Behind it, much of the City of Kalamunda is state forest climbing into the scarp.
Houses from 1978 on
High Wycombe was split from Maida Vale and declared a suburb on 2 June 1978, though a subdivider first used the name in 1958. 96.2% of its 4,571 occupied homes were separate houses at the 2021 Census.
Long-term owners
29.3% of homes were owned outright and 45.7% with a mortgage in 2021, with 21.9% rented.
The jobs we'd expect here
Replacing an older cooler. Ducted evaporative was WA's most common cooling in the ABS's 2006 survey, and plenty of foothills roofs carry one. When it's at the end of its life, the choice is a new cooler or a move to ducted reverse cycle, which heats too and runs with the windows shut.
Heating that isn't gas. If the gas heater is old, a reverse cycle split in the main living area is a simple way to add heat. Keep any gas heater you do keep serviced by a licensed gasfitter, at least every two years by Energy Safe Victoria's measure.
Checking what the switchboard can take. In an older house, ask the installer whether the switchboard can take a new circuit. In WA, that work needs a licensed electrician employed by a licensed electrical contractor.
What we'd do
What we'd do in High Wycombe
If the old evaporative cooler is failing, we'd get a written quote for each path: a new cooler, and ducted reverse cycle. Reverse cycle wins if you also want heating and a closed-up house in summer. We'd want the installer to check the roof space, the ducts and the switchboard before they quote.
