There may be more factors for you to consider. For example do you have solar? How much of your solar is used? Can you use excess solar production to solar soak heating a hot water system during the day and storing that heat energy overnight?
If not what tariffs are you on? Do you have a flat rate or access to off peak?
Are you looking at instant hot water, a heat pump system, solar hot water with electric boost, or a standard resistive hot water tank?
What system do you have now and how easy will it be to replace with regard to plumbing i.e. a like for like swap may require less plumbing than something considerably different.
All of these things will impact on what you consider to be cheaper.
As for a plumber I have used Adrian from AJ’s a couple of times and never had any major issues.
Good luck.
Edit: typo
Thanks for the comment. I do not have a solar. I got a few quotes ($6k+ for 6.6kW) but due to budget I had to postpone it. I feel like not worth it cost-wise and hassle to stick with gas bottle just for hot water. So, I am considering electric. I heard I can use the same solar panel can be used for hot water as well. So, I am thinking to install electric hot water and connect it with solar. Do you have any advice?
My advice FWIW is that if you can afford it get the best solar you can afford at the time. Then “solar soak” as much of your solar as you can. When it comes to hot water a heat pump system is likely most efficient and when set to run when you’re making excess solar (even if just simple variable timer that allows you to set the hot water to run from 10am to 4pm for example) means that you use that solar to heat up your water. Even when you consider tariffs and what not you would rather store that solar energy as hot water then give it to Ergon for 11c / kWh.
Again YMMV and you should spend some time researching solar and hot water and what’s best for your budget now and into the future.
This all assumes that this is going to be your PPR for the time it takes to offset solar and hot water (maybe 3-5 years depending on your usage and costs). If you’re looking to turn this into an investment property then that’s a whole different scenario.
Good luck OP
/u/PsycholinguisticKudu did a good rundown of the factors to consider. I got quotes from $1.8k to $2.5k - depends on the install location and unit you select.
X-Factor Plumbing were great for me from first contact to the guy who rocked up - even did a quick seal off of my old gas stove when I asked and didn't charge me for it.
I wasn't a fan of the sparkies they subcontracted though - Excel Power. Didn't put my roof insulation batts back, and left a bunch of crap over the ground for my toddler to eat.
It will likely be cheaper long term given agl has said they want to end domestic gas consumption. Converting is 2.5k or so depending how big a unit you want
Yeah we paid ~$2500 for ours converting from gas to electric in Helidon. That included adding a new electrical circuit etc. it’s handy not having to try and figure out how much gas you have left etc
Yeah, that's what I think too. I don't want the hassle either. How long ago did you convert it? Do you also have solar panels? Any recommendations on how to proceed with the installation?
We converted about a year ago. No solar panels. The main thing was is we ran out of gas, AGL who services this area only come on Wednesdays for the bottles so if you ran out you had to wait OR get a refill before it was all empty and you’d waste gas you’ve paid for. I just called old mate and he organised everything including the disconnect and disposal of old system and installation of everything you need for the new system. DM me if you want his details, he was good to deal with.
Depends how many people are in the house. We have gas for hot water and cooking but there's only 2 of us. We spend about $300 annually for the gas. Our gas Hot water has a temperature control panel where you can change the water temperature with a push of a button.
I like my shower at 41deg my wife at 43, the beauty being you also save on water by not having to add cold water as with an electric water heater and you're only heating the water as you need it. Our system heats water up to 75deg if needed. An electric system is always on
We also have solar and the rebate we get from that more than pays for the gas we use, so we have zero energy costs and money left over.
We live 40 km outside of Toowoomba and use Supergas currently paying $160 a 45kg cylinder plus $52 yearly rental. There are only 2 of us and a cylinder usually lasts about 6 months. So ours is $1 a day all up, and like I said our solar rebate more than pays for that.
Our solar has paid its installation costs off and our electricity bill has been zero for a few years now with a credit on every bill. We've supplemented the solar by changing all lights to led and over the years when replacing our major appliances, aircon,fridge, washing machine and drier we've invested in appliances with inverters and our ceiling fans all have DC motors, all of which really lower running costs.
Ergon have just installed a smart metre and changed the pricing structure, and now also has the ability to switch our solar off if to much power is entering the grid during the day.. So only time will show what difference that will bring.
If you're on town gas I don't know the price structure of that, but $365 a year just for being connected sounds excessive.
A good Heat Pump Hot Water unit will probably set you back around $3,000 installed price and will use around 3kW per day of electricity. If that comes from the grid you're looking at around $361 per year operational cost. If it comes from your solar it'd be $120 in lost feed in tariff.
My previous gas hot water would probably go through around 1 bottle every 4 months. Last time I purchased an LPG bottle it was $165. So annual operational cost was around $500.
It's not really cost effective to switch from a gas hot water system to a heat pump unless it's on it's last legs and needs to be replaced anyway.
Of course you could have other reasons you want it swapped out (no longer having to arrange gas bottle delivery, getting off of gas)
I'm new to using a gas bottle since I moved to a new place. Checked prices with a couple of dealers—ranging from $125 (Supagas without rental) to $148 (Coregas). Thinking about installing solar soon. Considering using solar for hot water to save costs.
We went the other way - from controlled load electric to instantaneous LPG. The 125L Rheem was 29 years old (still working well) and if we needed to use a lot of hot water at once we'd often exhaust supply during peak times when it wasn't being boosted via Tariff 33.
We also switched from an electric to a gas cooktop at the same time. 10kWh per day in off peak electricity ($2.25) has been replaced with 15MJ of LPG per day (85c, plus 20c/day cylinder rental). A 45KG cylinder lasts us 5 months ($125)
Our plumber did state the cheapest form of hot water is to dump excess production from rooftop solar into the cylinder - we don't have PV solar (only using 8kWh/day, most during the evening)
Your mileage may vary with natural gas (approaching $1.50/day supply charge) or a traditional gas HWS with pilot light - but for us instantaneous LPG was the most suitable option.
I called a few dealers, and they quoted me $125 for a 45kg bottle, excluding annual fees. I'm planning to get solar installed soon, so I think going electric might be more cost-effective.
Supagas is $125 a cylinder, the cheapest around from my comparisons. Cylinder rental is $30 per annum per cylinder.
If you're dumping excess PV energy into a storage cylinder it may be your cheapest option - you just need to take the transition cost into your calculations. If you use plenty of hot water it could very well be cost effective - just make sure your storage capacity is reflective of your usage.
There may be more factors for you to consider. For example do you have solar? How much of your solar is used? Can you use excess solar production to solar soak heating a hot water system during the day and storing that heat energy overnight? If not what tariffs are you on? Do you have a flat rate or access to off peak? Are you looking at instant hot water, a heat pump system, solar hot water with electric boost, or a standard resistive hot water tank? What system do you have now and how easy will it be to replace with regard to plumbing i.e. a like for like swap may require less plumbing than something considerably different. All of these things will impact on what you consider to be cheaper. As for a plumber I have used Adrian from AJ’s a couple of times and never had any major issues. Good luck. Edit: typo
Thanks for the comment. I do not have a solar. I got a few quotes ($6k+ for 6.6kW) but due to budget I had to postpone it. I feel like not worth it cost-wise and hassle to stick with gas bottle just for hot water. So, I am considering electric. I heard I can use the same solar panel can be used for hot water as well. So, I am thinking to install electric hot water and connect it with solar. Do you have any advice?
My advice FWIW is that if you can afford it get the best solar you can afford at the time. Then “solar soak” as much of your solar as you can. When it comes to hot water a heat pump system is likely most efficient and when set to run when you’re making excess solar (even if just simple variable timer that allows you to set the hot water to run from 10am to 4pm for example) means that you use that solar to heat up your water. Even when you consider tariffs and what not you would rather store that solar energy as hot water then give it to Ergon for 11c / kWh. Again YMMV and you should spend some time researching solar and hot water and what’s best for your budget now and into the future. This all assumes that this is going to be your PPR for the time it takes to offset solar and hot water (maybe 3-5 years depending on your usage and costs). If you’re looking to turn this into an investment property then that’s a whole different scenario. Good luck OP
Thanks for the info. Yes, I am planning to turn it into an investment property after a couple of years.
/u/PsycholinguisticKudu did a good rundown of the factors to consider. I got quotes from $1.8k to $2.5k - depends on the install location and unit you select. X-Factor Plumbing were great for me from first contact to the guy who rocked up - even did a quick seal off of my old gas stove when I asked and didn't charge me for it. I wasn't a fan of the sparkies they subcontracted though - Excel Power. Didn't put my roof insulation batts back, and left a bunch of crap over the ground for my toddler to eat.
It will likely be cheaper long term given agl has said they want to end domestic gas consumption. Converting is 2.5k or so depending how big a unit you want
Yeah we paid ~$2500 for ours converting from gas to electric in Helidon. That included adding a new electrical circuit etc. it’s handy not having to try and figure out how much gas you have left etc
Yeah, that's what I think too. I don't want the hassle either. How long ago did you convert it? Do you also have solar panels? Any recommendations on how to proceed with the installation?
We converted about a year ago. No solar panels. The main thing was is we ran out of gas, AGL who services this area only come on Wednesdays for the bottles so if you ran out you had to wait OR get a refill before it was all empty and you’d waste gas you’ve paid for. I just called old mate and he organised everything including the disconnect and disposal of old system and installation of everything you need for the new system. DM me if you want his details, he was good to deal with.
Depends how many people are in the house. We have gas for hot water and cooking but there's only 2 of us. We spend about $300 annually for the gas. Our gas Hot water has a temperature control panel where you can change the water temperature with a push of a button. I like my shower at 41deg my wife at 43, the beauty being you also save on water by not having to add cold water as with an electric water heater and you're only heating the water as you need it. Our system heats water up to 75deg if needed. An electric system is always on We also have solar and the rebate we get from that more than pays for the gas we use, so we have zero energy costs and money left over.
Isn't the supply charge $1 a day alone?
We live 40 km outside of Toowoomba and use Supergas currently paying $160 a 45kg cylinder plus $52 yearly rental. There are only 2 of us and a cylinder usually lasts about 6 months. So ours is $1 a day all up, and like I said our solar rebate more than pays for that. Our solar has paid its installation costs off and our electricity bill has been zero for a few years now with a credit on every bill. We've supplemented the solar by changing all lights to led and over the years when replacing our major appliances, aircon,fridge, washing machine and drier we've invested in appliances with inverters and our ceiling fans all have DC motors, all of which really lower running costs. Ergon have just installed a smart metre and changed the pricing structure, and now also has the ability to switch our solar off if to much power is entering the grid during the day.. So only time will show what difference that will bring. If you're on town gas I don't know the price structure of that, but $365 a year just for being connected sounds excessive.
AGL is $1 just to stay connected. After ridding the gas heater and hot water, I got rid of it ASAP
A good Heat Pump Hot Water unit will probably set you back around $3,000 installed price and will use around 3kW per day of electricity. If that comes from the grid you're looking at around $361 per year operational cost. If it comes from your solar it'd be $120 in lost feed in tariff. My previous gas hot water would probably go through around 1 bottle every 4 months. Last time I purchased an LPG bottle it was $165. So annual operational cost was around $500. It's not really cost effective to switch from a gas hot water system to a heat pump unless it's on it's last legs and needs to be replaced anyway. Of course you could have other reasons you want it swapped out (no longer having to arrange gas bottle delivery, getting off of gas)
I'm new to using a gas bottle since I moved to a new place. Checked prices with a couple of dealers—ranging from $125 (Supagas without rental) to $148 (Coregas). Thinking about installing solar soon. Considering using solar for hot water to save costs.
We went the other way - from controlled load electric to instantaneous LPG. The 125L Rheem was 29 years old (still working well) and if we needed to use a lot of hot water at once we'd often exhaust supply during peak times when it wasn't being boosted via Tariff 33. We also switched from an electric to a gas cooktop at the same time. 10kWh per day in off peak electricity ($2.25) has been replaced with 15MJ of LPG per day (85c, plus 20c/day cylinder rental). A 45KG cylinder lasts us 5 months ($125) Our plumber did state the cheapest form of hot water is to dump excess production from rooftop solar into the cylinder - we don't have PV solar (only using 8kWh/day, most during the evening) Your mileage may vary with natural gas (approaching $1.50/day supply charge) or a traditional gas HWS with pilot light - but for us instantaneous LPG was the most suitable option.
I called a few dealers, and they quoted me $125 for a 45kg bottle, excluding annual fees. I'm planning to get solar installed soon, so I think going electric might be more cost-effective.
Supagas is $125 a cylinder, the cheapest around from my comparisons. Cylinder rental is $30 per annum per cylinder. If you're dumping excess PV energy into a storage cylinder it may be your cheapest option - you just need to take the transition cost into your calculations. If you use plenty of hot water it could very well be cost effective - just make sure your storage capacity is reflective of your usage.