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.
Is underfloor heating expensive to run? What it costs in Perth
About $240 a winter month for 200 m² built right, $601 built cheap. Where the gap comes from, and how to land on the right side of it.
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.
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.
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.
What is hydronic heating, and how does it work?
Warm water, a heat pump and a loop of pipe. How hydronic heating works, what it costs to run in Perth, and how it compares with aircon.
Hydronic floor heating or ducted reverse-cycle: which is better in Perth?
Reverse cycle is cheaper to buy and efficient. Hydronic built right runs in the same league, minus the blown air. When each one wins.
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.
What’s inside a hydronic heating system? The parts, in plain words
A heat source, a pump, a manifold and some pipe, plus a few small parts that keep it safe. What each one does, in plain words.
How long does hydronic heating last?
The pipes in the floor outlast most houses; the heat pump is the part that wears. What lasts, what doesn't, and the signs.
Can I add radiator central heating to an older Perth home?
Yes, with nothing dug up and about a day per radiator. Where the pipes go, and the cheap fix to do before any heating.
Gas or electric central heating: should I replace my gas heater with a heat pump?
Central heating runs on gas or electricity. What to do when the old gas heater gets dear, and which swap suits your house.