Emu Plains, between the river and the mountains
Penrith's heat, on the west bank
Penrith averages 67 days a year above 30 degrees, against 15 in the CBD, and reached 48.9 degrees on 4 January 2020. Penrith City Council's own temperature loggers read about 52 degrees at Berkshire Park that day.
Cold air off the mountains
On winter nights, denser air from the Blue Mountains slides down into the Sydney basin as light south-westerly drainage winds. Emu Plains sits at the foot of those mountains, 27 m above sea level beside the Nepean. Penrith's July mean minimum is 5.4 degrees.
Family houses, often owned outright
At the 2021 Census, 82.1% of Emu Plains homes were separate houses and 12.4% were semis, terraces or townhouses. 39.1% were owned outright, only 22.4% were rented, and 40.8% had four or more bedrooms.
Penrith council, zone 6
Emu Plains moved from the Blue Mountains council to the City of Penrith in 1963. The ABCB's climate zone map shades Penrith zone 6, mild temperate, like the rest of Sydney's west.
What usually needs doing in an Emu Plains house?
Ducted reverse cycle for the bigger homes. In a four-bedroom house, one split rarely reaches the bedrooms. ActronAir says a system loses cooling capacity above 35 degrees, and Western Sydney averages 10 to 20 of those days a year. Size for that afternoon, not an average one. More on ducted in Sydney.
Heating that holds up on cold mornings. The energy label gives heating capacity at 7 degrees and at 2 degrees. With Penrith's July nights averaging 5.4, the 2 degree figure tells you more about an Emu Plains winter.
Replacing a tired system. If you inherited the heater or air conditioner with the house, have it looked at before it fails in a January heatwave. NSW's Energy Savings Scheme may take an upfront discount off replacing an old air conditioner with a high efficiency one. The installer has to partner with an accredited certificate provider, and you sign the nomination form before any work starts. Our ESS guide has the detail.
Own one of the old buildings?
Emu Plains has heritage-listed buildings, including the Arms of Australia Inn from 1826 and Emu Hall from 1851. Under the NSW exempt development rules, an air conditioner on a heritage item has to be ground-mounted, at or behind the rear building line. If yours is listed, ask the council before booking anyone.
What we'd do
What we'd do in Emu Plains
We'd size for the worst of both seasons. In a four-bedroom house, that usually means zoned ducted reverse cycle, sized for a hot western afternoon and checked in writing for heating output at 2 degrees. Then we'd want a ducted specialist who knows Penrith summers. Licence-checked installers near Emu Plains who do that work can see your job, and only the one who takes it gets your details. Installers elsewhere in NSW may see it too if no one near Emu Plains takes it within 48 hours.
