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.
What rules apply to installing radiators in WA?
Gas, electrics and the water supply need licensed trades and certificates. What the rules cover, and the part they leave to the designer.
Radiators vs panel heaters and convectors: what’s the difference?
One is central heating fed by warm water, the others plug in. What each costs to run, and the room where electric is the right answer.
What size radiator do I need for each room?
Not from the floor area. What decides each panel's size, and why a radiator sized off a chart leaves the back bedroom cold in July.
Radiators or split systems: which is better for heating an older home?
A split system is the cheap way to warm one room. Why older homes with high ceilings lose blown warm air, and when radiators are worth it.
Is a radiator a heat exchanger? The difference in plain words
A radiator hands heat from water to a room. A heat exchanger usually hands it from one loop of water to another, without the two mixing.
Can radiators run on a heat pump?
Yes, and most of ours do. A heat pump makes warm water rather than hot, so each radiator has to be sized for it.
Radiators or floor heating: which suits my home?
Same warm water, delivered two ways. Floor heating when you're building, radiators when you're living in it, both when you're renovating.
Can I paint my radiators?
Yes, in any ordinary colour. The one paint to avoid is metallic, and the parts to leave alone are the valves.
How much do radiators cost to install in a Perth home?
From around $3,500 a panel on a gas boiler or $7,500 on a heat pump, fully installed. What moves the price, and what it costs to run.
Which type of radiator is best for my home?
For most homes, a plain steel panel: the cheapest and as warm as any. When cast iron or columns make sense, and what matters more.