Heating & Cooling
- What's the most energy-efficient way to cool my home?
- What's the most energy-efficient way to heat my home?
- Why are reverse cycle air conditioners so efficient?
- Gas is no longer the best option?
- Should I get a ducted air conditioner or a split system?
- But aren't air conditioners bad?
- The Complete Guide To Choosing Your Home Air Conditioner
- Your Complete Guide to Choosing an Energy Efficient Heater
- Get a quote for an energy-efficient air conditioner
Table of contents
Part 1: Heater Options – An Overview
- Ducted Air Conditioner
- Hydronic Heater
- Gas Ducted Heater
- Split System Air Conditioner
- Gas Space Heater
- Underfloor Heating
- Portable Air Conditioner
- Panel Convection Heating
- Fan Heater
- Oil Column Heater
- Radiant Heater
- Infrared Heater
- Personal Heater
Part 2: How to Choose an Energy Efficient Heater
Bonus: 8 Easy Ways to Lower Your Heating Bills
Next Steps: Free Advice and Support
Winter should be a time for cosy evenings and toasty mornings. But rising electricity and gas rates mean that many Australians instead suffer from the cold or unnecessarily high winter energy bills.
Happily, there’s no need to experience either.
Our Complete Guide to Choosing an Energy Efficient Heater provides everything you need to know about choosing an energy efficient heater that will keep you warm without increasing your bills.
Read the guide below or download a pdf to save it for later.
If you have any more questions, give our friendly energy advisors a call at 1300 23 68 55 or contact us via email.
Your Complete Guide to Choosing an Energy Efficient Heater
Table of Contents
Part 1: Heater Options – An Overview
- Ducted Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner
- Hydronic Heater
- Gas Ducted Heater
- Split System Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner
- Gas Space Heater
- Underfloor Heating
- Portable Air Conditioner
- Panel Convection Heating
- Fan Heater
- Oil Column Heater
- Radiant Heater
- Infrared Heater
- Personal Heater
Part 2: How to Choose an Energy Efficient Heater
- Assess Your Home’s Energy Efficiency
- Focus on Heating People, Not Spaces
- Standards for Choosing Your Heater
- Our Heater Recommendations
- How to Calculate Portable Heater Running Costs
Bonus: 8 Easy Ways to Lower Your Heating Bills
Next Steps: Free Advice and Support
Introduction to Buying a Heater — Or Not
Winter should be a time for cosy evenings and toasty mornings. But rising electricity and gas rates mean that many Australians instead suffer from the cold or unnecessarily high winter energy bills.
Happily, there’s no need to experience either.
First, there’s a 50% chance that your home already has an energy-efficient heater. Almost half of all Australian homes contain a reverse-cycle air conditioner, which doubles as a cost-effective heater. So it’s possible that just switching your aircon to heating mode could cut your winter electricity bills for free.
But even if you don’t have a heater yet (or need to replace your old one) this reader-friendly guide provides everything you need to know about choosing an energy efficient heater that easily and affordably improves:
- your home’s heating efficiency
- your family’s cold weather comfort
- your (lower) energy bills
We even included a final section of 8 simple tips to maximise your heater savings.
So everything you need to make a well-informed heater choice — and enjoy a warm winter without skyrocketing electricity bills — is right here.
Part 1: Heater Options – An Overview
When considering a heater purchase, many homeowners quickly find that the problem’s not too few options; it’s too many. They’re faced with choosing from at least thirteen common heater types – each with its own strengths and weaknesses in speed, purchase price, running costs, and heating capability.
To help you make the best choice for your unique heating situation, here’s a convenient table of the thirteen main heater types followed by a brief analysis of each type’s pros and cons. The chart and entries are arranged by area size: they begin with whole-house heaters, move to portable single-room heaters, and end with single-person heaters.
| Heater Type | Best For: | Heating Speed | Approximate Running Cost | Approximate Purchase Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ducted Reverse-Cycle Air Conditioner | Entire House (can be zoned) | Fast | Medium - High (depends on zoning needs) | $5,000-$15,000 |
| Fan Heater | One person or small room | Medium | Medium to High | $60-$900 |
| Gas Ducted Heater | Entire house (can be zoned) | Fast | High | $4,000-$10,000 |
| Gas Space Heater | Any room | Fast | Medium | $600-$3000 |
| Hydronic Heater | Entire house (can be zoned) | Slow | Low to High (depending on boiler type) | $10,000-$30,000 |
| Infrared Heater | Only heats objects directly in line of heater - does not heat spaces | Instant | Medium to High | $300-$900 |
| Oil Column Heater | Small room | Slow | Medium to High | $50-$380 |
| Panel/Convection Heater | Small to medium room | Medium | Medium to High | $30-$700 |
| Personal Heater | One person | Fast | Low | $30-$250 |
| Portable Reverse-Cycle Air Conditioner | Small to medium room | Fast | Low to medium | $300-$1300 |
| Radiant Heater | One person | Fast | Medium to High | $20-$200 |
| Split-System Reverse-Cycle Air Conditioner | Any room, entire small or medium house | Fast | Low to Medium | $600-$5500 |
| Underfloor Heating | Bathroom or a small, well-insulated house | Medium | High | $1,000-$3,000 per room |
1. Ducted Reverse Cycle Air Conditioner
Better known for cooling homes, these air conditioners can heat them as well.
How It Works
These aircons provide ducted heating, also known as central heating. The air conditioner system’s large central unit (usually housed in the roof) pumps heated or cooled air to the whole house via a system of air ducts that connect to vents in each room.
Pros
- Timer allows you to heat your home whenever desired – i.e. before you get up and/or before you get home from work
- Heats the whole house quickly
- Takes up less space than multi-split systems (just one system serves all rooms, instead of needing outdoor compressors in each room)
Cons
- High purchase cost
- Costly, multi-day installation
- Medium-high running costs (depending on zoning ability)
- Less efficient than split system heaters (due to heat losses in ducts, among other reasons)
- Risk of lowered efficiency from possible duct damage and disconnection
- Risk of draughts
- If system is damaged, the entire house loses heating until it’s repaired (unlike a house with multiple split systems in different rooms)
Tip: If you decide to buy a reverse-cycle air conditioner, choose one with zoning capabilities. Zoning allows the airflow to certain areas to be switched off when those areas are not in use. This prevention of unneeded air conditioning helps to prevent extra electricity costs.
2. Hydronic Heater
How It Works
A water heating unit (usually a boiler) heats water using either gas or electricity. This hot water is piped through circuits into radiators.
Pros
- Can be set on a timer to heat your home whenever desired (i.e. before you get up and/or come home from work)
- Flexible location due to wide range of radiator options: standing, wall, towel rail, bench seat, and custom-made
- On any given day, you can choose to either heat your whole house or “zone” the house (heat only certain rooms) to save on energy bills
- Some hydronic boilers provide domestic hot water — no need to pay for a separate hot water system
- Reasonably efficient
- Hydronic heaters with heat pump boilers have low running costs.
- Quiet
- Low maintenance
Cons
- High purchase cost
- Complex and costly installation (especially if retrofitting to an existing house)
- Heats areas slowly
- Multiple points of possible system failure
- Usually powered by gas, which is detrimental to the environment
Tip: Hot water heat pumps are the most efficient boiler type.
3. Gas Ducted Heater
How It Works
A large central unit, usually housed in either the roof or floor, provides heated air to the whole house through a system of air ducts that connect to vents in each room.
Ducted heating is also known as central heating, and is powered by natural gas.
Pros
- Timer allows you to heat your home before you get up and/or home from work
- Heat enters the house gently through the ducts – no sudden blast of hot air
- One central system takes up less space than several split systems
- Heats entire house quickly
Cons
- High purchase cost
- Continual increase of running costs (due to continual increase of gas prices)
- Complex and costly installation
- Does not provide cooling in summer (unlike the similar reverse-cycle air conditioner)
- Risk of lowered efficiency from duct damage or disconnection
- Risk of draughts from ducts
- If the system is damaged, the entire house is without heating until it’s repaired (unlike a house with multiple split systems in different rooms)
- Gas heating can release lethal carbon monoxide
- Increased risk of mould problems due to condensation from water vapour
- Cannot be powered by solar panels
- Gas emissions have a significant negative environmental impact
Tip: Choose a system that allows zoning. This allows you to save on gas costs by switching off heat to areas when those areas are not in use.
4. Split-System Reverse-Cycle Air Conditioner
How It Works
This is the most common air conditioner type in Australia, valued for its ability to both cool and heat an entire house. Each system consists of two parts: an outdoor unit and an indoor unit.
The outdoor unit of a reverse-cycle air conditioner usually extracts heat from the indoors and moves it outdoors via pipes containing refrigerant gas. This cools the house.
In heating mode, the aircon simply reverses this process to heat the house. The outdoor unit pulls in heat from the outside air (heat is still there, even in winter!) The pipes transfer this heat to the indoor unit, which then warms the room.
You already have a heat pump in your refrigerator, which transfers heat from inside the refrigerator to the outside (hence why the exterior of a fridge can feel warm). An air conditioner also uses this method to cool your house in summer.
However, unlike a refrigerator’s heat pump, a reverse-cycle air conditioner can (true to its name) reverse this process to draw heat from the outside to the inside. Thus, it can heat your home in winter as well.
Pros
- Most efficient way to heat your home. Each unit of electricity can generate up to 6 units of heat (in comparison to other electric heaters, which can never produce more than one unit of heat per unit of electricity).
- Low running cost
- Cools home – no additional aircon unit needed
- Can be used for any room size, due to wide range of available size options
- Many systems can also function as air purifier and humidifier
- Often self-cleaning
- Thermostats included to maintain optimal temperature
- Energy-star ratings make it easy to choose an efficient model
- Heats areas quickly
- Can be set on a timer (i.e., to heat your home before you get up and/or before you come home from work)
Cons
- Higher upfront cost than portable systems
- Not ideal for very large homes. Since each conditioned room requires its own outdoor compressor, extremely spacious homes may require an unappealing and yard-consuming number of compressors. However, this caveat doesn’t apply to most homes. Most are comfortably heated with only 2-3 indoor units.
- Not portable
- Older models can blast warm air into a room. However, most newer models include low fan settings and speed-balancing sensors that prevent air blasts.
5. Gas Space Heater
How It Works
As the name implies, gas space heaters burn gas to produce heat. They can be wall furnaces, set into the wall, or a standalone unit (like the old “belly stoves”).
Pros
- Lower running costs than portable electric heaters
- Heats areas quickly
Cons
- Higher purchase price than portable electric heaters
- Continually increasing running costs (due to continually increasing gas prices)
- Require professional servicing every 2-4 years
- Cannot cool areas – additional aircon unit needed
- Old or poorly designed gas heaters can leak lethal carbon monoxide
- Increased risk of mould problems (due to condensation from water vapour)
- Burning fossil fuels has a significant negative environmental impact
- Flued heaters are not portable
- Cannot be powered by solar panels
6. Underfloor Heating
(Also known as In-floor Resistive Electric Heater and In-Slab Floor Heating)
How It Works
A mat containing looped electrical resistance wires is installed on the house’s subfloor concrete slab (i.e. underneath tiles, a carpet, and/or floorboards). The wires transfer heat to the floor, then heat the rest of the room over the course of an hour.
Pros
- Can be set on a timer to heat your home whenever desired (i.e. before you get up and/or before you come home from work)
- Takes up no wall or room space
- Keeps floors warm
- Flexible installation — can be used in houses where hydronic in-floor heating can’t be installed
- Lower purchase cost than hydronic heating
- Can utilise cheaper off-peak electricity
- Silent
- Allergen-free
Cons
- High installation cost
- Higher running costs than most hydronic heating
- Cannot cool homes in summer
- The house takes longer to cool down after heat is turned off, since the entire slab needs to cool down.
7. Portable Air Conditioner
How It Works
This single-unit reverse-cycle air conditioner dispenses heat via a flexible hose, which is passed through a partially open window. The unit can be moved from one room to another if needed (though not easily, since the flexible duct must be properly fitted to each window). Most units have a seal that minimises air leakage.
As of April 1, 2020, new regulations require portable air conditioners to carry efficiency star-rating labels and to meet minimum energy performance standards.
Pros
- Heats room quickly
- Portable (suitable for rental spaces)
- More affordable than a split-system air conditioner
- Most energy-efficient portable system
Cons
- About half as efficient than a split-system air conditioner
- Some units can be quite loud – check noise level rating before purchasing
- Prevents full closure of window or requires window modification
- Can prevent full closure of blinds and curtains
8. Panel Convection Heater
How It Works
Like electric ovens, these heaters convert self-generated electric currents into heat energy via a resistor. This energy first warms the air around the heater and then, through air circulation, the entire room.
Pros
- Portable
- Inexpensive ($30-$700)
- Automatic timers and thermostats often included
Cons
- High running cost
- Cannot heat large rooms
- Cannot cool areas – additional aircon unit needed
- Models with fans are often noisy
- Ineffective in draughty homes (since those homes lose warm air quickly)
- Heat a room more slowly than radiant heaters
9. Fan Heater
How It Works
A fan draws in air over this heater’s electric element, which rapidly warms the air and propels it into the room.
Pros
- Smaller and more easily portable than most other electric heaters
- Inexpensive ($60-$900)
Cons
- High running cost
- Cannot heat large rooms
- Cannot cool areas – additional aircon unit needed
- Noise of running fan
- Ineffective in draughty homes, which lose warm air very quickly
- Heats a room more slowly than a radiant heater
10. Oil Column Heater
How It Works
These heaters have columns, or “fins,” in which oil (or another easily heated material) is sealed. The heaters use electricity to heat this oil, then transfer the oil to the casing. Once in the casing, the oil’s heat warms the air that surrounds the fins.
Pros
- Inexpensive ($50-$400)
- Portable
- Safe – this heater type’s accessible surfaces don’t get as hot as other electric heaters’ surfaces.
Cons
- High running cost when used in a large room
- Heat areas more slowly than heaters with fans
- Cannot cool areas – additional aircon unit needed
11. Radiant Heater
How It Works
Unlike most other heater types, these heaters don’t warm the air in a space. In these aptly named units, a red-hot heating element radiates heat that warms people and objects directly.
You may already have a radiant heater in your bathroom; they’re ideal for short periods of intense heat in a small space, such as bathrooms.
Pros
- Inexpensive ($20-$200)
- Instant heat
- Minimal maintenance (no moving parts)
- Last for many years
Cons
- Running costs often too high for heating full-sized rooms
- Usually don’t include a thermostat – more costly to run
- Relatively exposed heating elements can pose a safety and fire hazard.
Tip: Be careful around any exposed heating elements; even just a piece of clothing dropped over it may cause a fire. Floor models are risky for homes with small children, since they might accidentally touch it and burn themselves.
12. Far Infrared Heater (FIR)
How It Works
A far infrared heater (FIR) is a special type of radiant heater. Unlike other radiant heaters, a FIR has a large ceramic or glass-sheeted surface area. These sheets contain embedded filaments or thin-film heating materials that emit infrared rays to heat people and objects directly (instead of warming the air around them like most heaters do).
Pros
- Most space-efficient option: a flat panel can be mounted on a ceiling or wall
- Effective even in rooms that cannot be draught-proofed
- Instant heat
- Gentle heat (no air blast)
- Silent
- Little maintenance needed
Cons
- Only heats objects situated in the direct line of the infrared rays
- Cannot be installed opposite windows
- Not portable
- Little ability to control temperature – most only have an off/on button.
13. Personal Heater
How It Works
Many widely available products – heated rugs, electric blankets, heat pads, and heated clothing – are perfect for enjoying a cosy time at under three cents per hour.
Even simple non-electric blankets and throws can do a fine job in a pinch.
Pros
- Gentle and instant heat
- Inexpensive ($30-$250)
- Silent
- Very low running costs ($0.03/hour)
- Portable
Cons
- Cannot heat an entire room
Part 2: How to Choose An Energy Efficient Heater
Step 1: Assess Your Home’s Energy Efficiency
Even the best heater can’t maintain its efficiency in a draughty home. Hot air leaks from energy-inefficient homes in several areas:
These heat losses make you pay more for heated space – and even then, you could still suffer draughts. Since your heater will also be working harder to provide warmth, it may require more maintenance and run down more quickly than it would have in a more easily heated space.
To prevent such losses, make sure that your home is energy-efficient – insulated and draught-proofed with thick window coverings – before calculating your heater needs. Have a draught-proofing or insulation professional assess your home’s efficiency and insulate or seal any areas prone to heat loss.
In addition, use heavy curtains for your windows – up to 20% of conditioned air can seep through them, but thick curtains and/or window films effectively prevent such losses.
The final benefit of draught proofing or insulatng? Once your home is energy-efficient, you’ll probably discover that you don’t need as big (or expensive) a heater as you first thought.
Ready to arrange a home visit with a professional, trustworthy insulation or weather-proofing business? We’ve vetted several of the best Australian suppliers; just request a no-strings, no-pressure quote here.
Step 2: Focus on Heating People, Not Spaces
It’s sometimes too easy to focus on heating spaces instead of people. Remember that your ultimate goal is to warm yourself and your loved ones, not the rooms themselves.
This approach isn’t just about caring, either – it can save you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
For example, personal heating devices – electric blankets, rugs, clothing, and heat pads – provide quick and quiet warmth for less than $100. Even wearing warmer (or more layers of) clothing helps.
Such materials are by far the most budget-friendly and energy-efficient ways to enjoy a cosy winter. Use them, and you may find that you only need a small heating system with less run-time and (ultimately) lower electricity bills.
Step 3: Standards for Choosing Your Energy Efficient Heater
Now that you’ve made your home as energy-efficient and your household members as warm as possible before looking at heater options, it’s finally time to sift through those options and find your perfect heater.
Assess each heater type you’re considering by these six standards:
- Purchase Price
- Installation Cost
- Running Cost
- Efficiency
- Convenience & Comfort
- Environmental Impact
You don’t have to do this alone; we’ve already analysed the heating options in Part 1 according to the above standards for each living space. Find our recommendations, and analysis of why each is the most customer-friendly option, in Step 4 below.
Step 4: Our Energy Efficient Heater Recommendations
For Rooms and Whole-House Heating: Reverse-Cycle Split-System Air Conditioner
Even though they’re called air conditioners, these systems are an excellent heating choice in Australia for several reasons (including the fact that nearly 50% of homes already have them!)
- Running Cost & Efficiency
This is where reverse-cycle air conditioners truly shine.
First, all types of resistive heaters can never be more than 100% efficient, since they rely on turning electricity directly into heat.
In contrast, reverse-cycle air conditioners use heat pumps. These don’t have to create heat; they simply move existing heat from one place to another. Since moving heat is much less energy-intensive than creating it, many reverse-cycle air conditioners have 600% efficiency.
In other words: for each unit of electricity they use, these aircons provide up to 6 times as much heat as other heater types.
That’s why their running costs are so low.
Heater type | Running cost / 500 hours |
Small gas (1.5kW) | $212.50 |
Portable electric heater (2.4kW) | $312.50 |
Small reverse-cycle air con (3.5kW) | $113.83 |
Data sourced from Choice ‘How to buy the best heating system for your home’.
In fact, an analysis by Renew and the Melbourne Energy Institute shows that up to one million homes in Eastern Australia (ACT, NSW, QLD, VIC, and SA) can save hundreds of dollars on their heating bills just by switching off their gas heater and turning on their reverse-cycle aircon.
- Convenience & Comfort
Many people considering a reverse-cycle split system ask whether it provides the same warmth as a ducted or hydronic heating system. They worry that the air movement in a reverse-cycle system might have a slight cooling effect on the hot air, thus making the split system run at a higher setting for the same comfort level.
While all convective heaters have a very subtle cooling effect, many reverse-cycle heater manufacturers have improved their product design to minimise it.
For instance, many air conditioners now come with more (and wider) air outlets that circulate air at slower speeds. Many also direct airflow over the walls, floor, and/or ceiling (instead of blowing air directly onto occupants). This allows air to move further across the room at a slower pace, which will effectively warm (or, in summer, cool) your room at a low setting.
Finally, split-system aircons are ideal for people with allergies or asthma — many include high-quality air filters.
- Environmental Impact
Split-system reverse-cycle air conditioners are environmentally friendly because they run purely on electricity, unlike gas heaters that release harmful fossil fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Also unlike gas heaters, they can be run on clean, renewable solar power.
As for your own home environment: gas heaters pose a risk of releasing lethal carbon monoxide, while split-system air conditioners contain none at all.
- Purchase Price
At $600-$5,500, these aircons provide efficient heating for thousands of dollars less than either gas or reverse-cycle ducted heating systems, both of which often cost $4,000-$15,000.
In addition, you don’t have to buy the entire system at once. Since split-system units can be added at any time, you can start with a small system for one or two rooms and expand as needed. (In contrast, ducted systems require a far greater upfront cost for an inflexible system.)
Finally, these are still air conditioners: you can use them to keep cool in summer without any additional aircon units or purchases.
Though they can have a higher purchase price than portable electric heaters, their low running costs make them worthwhile.
- Installation Cost
A single licensed technician can install a reverse split-system air conditioner in just one day. Ducted system installations require paying an entire team to work for several days in your house.
Like their split-system counterparts, portable reverse-cycle air conditioners have far above 100% efficiency. Many reach 300% efficiency so that for every unit of electricity, they produce 3 units of heat. They also heat a space very quickly, in addition to doubling as air conditioners.
However, portable reverse-system air conditioners aren’t the most convenient heaters. Not only do they require an open window for the outlet duct and water drain hose, but they can also be quite noisy.
Tip: Check noise level ratings before purchasing one of these.
Other Options
If a portable reverse-cycle aircon doesn’t work for you due to its noise level or window needs, another heater type might. In that case, choose your heater based on the size of the area you need to heat. Full-sized rooms are often well-heated by panel convective heaters, while small spaces warm up instantly with radiant heaters.
How to Calculate Portable Heater Running Costs
1. Find the power rating (in kilowatts) of your prospective heater. This shows you how much electricity the heater needs to run at full capacity for one hour.
Source: SA.GOV.AU
2. Multiply this number by your area’s electricity rates (usually around 30 cents per kWh).
3. The result reveals your approximate running costs for that heater.
For example, if you’re considering a 2 kW heater that will run for approximately five hours a day at 30 cents per kWh, daily use will cost you 2 x 5 x $0.30 = $3.00/day.
4. A cheerful note – your running costs will probably be lower than that result, since many heaters are switched off by a built-in thermostat when the desired temperature is reached.
Bonus: 8 Easy Ways to Lower Your Heating Bills
Follow these eight easy tips to save on heating costs.
- Use Your Fan’s Reverse Cycle
Hot air rises. So if you have a ceiling fan, activate its reverse feature in winter to circulate heated air back down to where you and your family can enjoy it.
- Only Heat Occupied Areas
If no one’s in a room, there’s little reason to heat it. Some heaters have room sensors that automatically lower air supply to unoccupied rooms, but you can also program your heater(s) to turn certain rooms off after a certain hour (if everyone’s in bed) or when you’re gone, and to only fire up when you’re on your way home.
In addition, consider which rooms you and your family use most. If you spend a lot of time in one or two rooms, it might be most budget-friendly to heat just those rooms and use personal heaters in the rest.
In this case, make sure that each heated room is well-insulated:
- Thick rugs
- Heavy-lined drapes with pelmets
- Doors with draught-excluders.
Tip: One cheap and effective way to insulate a window? Tape a sheet of bubble-wrap to it.
- Maintain Your Heater According to the Manual
Use the maintenance schedule contained in your heater’s manual. Regular maintenance and servicing (if needed) will head off many electricity-sapping, expensive-to-fix issues before they even begin.
- (For Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners) Set Winter Temperature to 18-20℃
The greater the difference between outdoor and indoor temperatures, the harder your reverse-cycle air conditioner has to work. In winter, an indoor temperature at or below 20℃ will keep your home comfortable without overtaxing your heater. Every degree higher can add 10% to your running costs — which means that every degree lower will save 10%. Most people don’t notice two or three degrees’ difference, but your aircon (and electricity bills) will.
- (For Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners) Clean the Filter
Dirty, clogged filters make your aircon work much harder to produce the same comfort level; for optimum efficiency (and lower electricity bills) clean them with soap and water according to the schedule in your manual.
Happily, some air conditioners are now self-cleaning. If you’re fortunate enough to have one of these, just check the filters every few months to make sure they’re clear.
- Keep Doors & Windows Closed
Tell your fellow residents to keep all doors and windows closed as much as possible. If you have an open plan home, consider using a door curtain in hallways on cold days.
Do, however, open window blinds and curtains during the day so that sunlight can help warm your home. Then close them at night to keep the heat in.
Tip: Heavy curtains with pelmets are great heat-trappers.
- Use Solar Energy During Daylight Hours
If you have solar panels, set your electric heater to run during the day while they’re generating free electricity for it.
- (For Reverse-Cycle Air Conditioners) Place Outdoor Unit in the Sun. And Plant a Tree While You’re At It!
The smaller the temperature difference between your outdoor unit and the indoor area it’s heating, the more efficiently the system runs and the lower your running costs. So in winter, a sunny location will let your heater soak in the warm sunrays and perform more efficiently.
However, if your home has high cooling needs in summer, the sunny spot won’t be as efficient then. You can remedy this by planting a small deciduous shrub or tree that will shade your outdoor unit in summer, then lose its leaves and let in the sun just in time for winter. And you’re helping the environment too!
Next steps: Free Advice and Support
While this guide answered the big questions about energy efficient heaters, we know that you’ll probably think of many more as you consider this decision.
Our non-profit team of experienced energy advisors is here to answer any questions you have: just get in touch with us at 1300 23 68 55 or via email for friendly, unbiased professional guidance.
If you’re ready to get a free, no-pressure quote from a fully vetted air conditioner installer, click here.
And finally, thank you for reading our Complete Guide to Choosing an Energy Efficient Heater! We hope you found it helpful in your journey towards a comfortable home with lower electricity bills.
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