Practical advice on heating and cooling your Perth home
Straight answers from the engineers who design and install the systems. Floor heating, radiators, heat pumps, geothermal and heat recovery.
Does a 7-star home still need heating?
Less heating, not none. Why a 7-star home still cools overnight, and why its tiled floor still feels cold on a July morning.
How much room do the heat pump, tank and manifold need?
Two metres of open air for the heat pump, a strip of floor for the tanks, a cupboard for the manifold, and room to work on all of it.
How warm will floor heating keep my house on the coldest Perth mornings?
On a near-freezing July morning, a properly designed floor still holds the house at the temperature you set. What that takes.
Floor heating installation, step by step: from the sand pad to the first warm morning
Insulation, pipes, a pressure test that stays on through the pour, commissioning, and why the first heat-up is a gentle one.
What size heat pump does my house need?
Floor area is only the start. How a heat pump is sized for Perth's coldest mornings, and what too big and too small each cost you.
What should an architect show on the drawings for hydronic floor heating?
Set-downs, slab-edge insulation, thermal breaks, manifold and plant space, and a heat pump spot that won't keep the neighbours awake.
Can I put rugs, beds and furniture on a heated floor?
Yes, all of them. What a rug does to the warmth beneath it, why beds on legs suit a heated floor, and what gets planned before the pour.
Can my air conditioner’s waste heat warm my pool?
Your air conditioner throws summer heat over the fence. How a heat-recovery system puts it in the pool, and when it isn't worth it.
Can my home’s heat pump or geothermal system heat the pool and spa too?
The heat pump that warms your floors sits idle all summer. When it should heat the pool too, and when geothermal pays for it.
How do I keep the heat in my pool? Covers, insulation and pipes
A bubble cover can cut a heated pool's heat loss by up to 75%. What to do about the pipes and the shell, and why winter is different.
Can heat recovery ventilation filter out pollen and bushfire smoke?
Pollen, mostly. Bushfire smoke, only partly. What the filters in a heat recovery unit catch, and what to do on a smoky day.
Central or room-by-room heat recovery: which suits my home?
One ducted unit, or small pairs through the walls? Which is quieter, which suits an existing home, and where each goes wrong.