Electric storage is the system most Gold Coast homes were built with, and it is still the cheapest way to get hot water back when a tank lets go. It is not the cheapest system to own over its life, and we will say so plainly further down. First, the price.
Electric hot water installed: the price
| Job | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Electric storage replacement, like-for-like | $1,300 to $2,400 supply + install | New tank same size and position, old unit removed, valves checked or replaced, commissioned, Form 4 lodged |
| Repair to an existing electric unit | Quoted after diagnosis | Element, thermostat or valve faults. No published figure, because the price depends on what the fault turns out to be |
| Gas storage, for comparison | $1,800 to $3,200 supply + install | Needs a gas supply and a licensed gas fitter's compliance certificate |
| Gas continuous flow, for comparison | $1,900 to $3,500 supply + install | No tank, sized by flow rate |
| Heat pump, for comparison | $2,500 to $4,500 supply + install after STC rebates | Dearest to buy, cheapest to run in our climate |
What is included in the installed price?
The unit itself from a mainstream brand with the manufacturer warranty registered in your name, delivery, disconnection and disposal of the old tank, the new tank set on its base and connected to the existing hot and cold pipework, the valves the standard requires, the electrical reconnection, commissioning and a check of the temperature at the taps, and the Form 4 lodged with the QBCC afterwards. In Queensland a like-for-like hot water replacement is notifiable work, which means a licensed plumber does it and notifies the QBCC on a Form 4 within the required time. You do not need a council permit and you do not need to do anything with the form yourself, but you should receive confirmation it was lodged, and if a quote does not mention it, ask.
What pushes the price to the top of the range?
Tank size is the biggest one, because a larger tank costs more to buy and a heavier tank takes more handling. After that it is valves: if the tempering valve, relief valve or pressure limiting valve on your existing set-up is old or missing, they get replaced rather than reused, and that adds parts. Access matters too. A tank on a concrete pad beside the house at ground level is the easy install; one squeezed into a laundry cupboard, on a raised platform, or up a flight of external stairs takes longer and sometimes needs two people. Finally, a tank on an exposed coastal wall gets the salt-rated fittings, which are a small premium. A plain 125 or 160 litre tank at ground level with good valves already in place is the bottom of the range. A 250 or 315 litre tank with a full set of new valves and awkward access is the top.
What size electric tank do I need?
In plain terms, a small tank suits one or two people, a mid-sized tank suits three, and a 250 litre or larger tank suits most four-person homes. The wrinkle with electric is the tariff, because a tank on an off-peak circuit only reheats during the off-peak window, usually overnight, so it has to hold a whole day's hot water in one fill. That is why off-peak tanks are bigger than the equivalent continuous-tariff tanks for the same household. If your current tank runs out by evening, going up a size at replacement time is usually the fix, and it costs far less at changeover than it does later. If your household has shrunk since the tank went in, going down a size saves money on the unit and on standing losses. We ask how many showers you run and when before we recommend a size, rather than swapping what is there out of habit.
How does the off-peak tariff work?
Off-peak, sometimes called a controlled load or economy tariff, is a separate metered circuit that the network switches on for a set number of hours, mostly at night when demand is low. In return the electricity on that circuit is charged at a lower rate than your general household supply. The trade-off is timing: the tank heats when the network says so, not when you have used the water, which is why an off-peak tank emptied at six in the evening stays cold until the window opens. A continuous tariff tank reheats whenever it drops below temperature, at the full rate. If you are on rooftop solar, there is a third option worth discussing, which is a timer so the element runs in the middle of the day on your own generation. We will tell you which of the three suits your household, and the tariff change itself is arranged with your retailer.
What valves does a new electric hot water system need?
Three, and none of them are optional. A tempering valve on the outlet mixes cold water into the hot so bathroom taps deliver no more than 50 degrees, which is the scald protection the standard requires on every new installation, even when the old tank never had one. A temperature and pressure relief valve on the tank vents to a drain if the tank over-pressures or overheats, and it is the reason a small dribble from the copper pipe at the side during heating is normal. A pressure limiting valve on the cold inlet protects the tank where mains pressure is high, which it is across a lot of the Gold Coast. Old valves are the most common thing we find wrong on a tank someone else installed cheaply. Reusing a tired relief valve to save a few dollars is a false economy, and reusing a missing tempering valve is a safety issue.
When does electric make sense, and when does it not?
Electric storage is the right call when the house has no gas, the household is small, the budget is tight, or you need hot water back today with the least fuss. It is a straight swap, the unit is usually in stock, and the job is often done the same day. It is the wrong call if you use a lot of hot water and pay the full-rate tariff, because that is the dearest way to heat water there is, and the money saved at purchase is spent again on the bill. If you are in that position, the heat pump at $2,500 to $4,500 after STC rebates runs on a fraction of the power for the same hot water, and the STCs and any state rebate can take $1,000 to $2,500 off the sticker. That is a bigger cheque today for a smaller bill every quarter, and for a large household on full tariff it is the better buy. We fit electric tanks and heat pumps alike, so the advice comes from how much hot water your house uses, not from which unit happens to be in stock.
Should I repair the old tank instead?
Sometimes, yes. If the tank is not leaking and the fault is an element, a thermostat or a valve, a repair is quoted after diagnosis and can be worth doing on a tank with plenty of life left. If the tank itself is weeping from the cylinder, there is no repair, and the money goes on a replacement. Run through the checks on our no hot water page before you call, because a tripped breaker or a tariff window is not a fault at all.
Tank on its way out, or already cold? Call Hills Plumbing & Gas on 0472 657 042 or book through our Hot Water Systems service page. Fixed price before we start, and I will tell you straight if electric is the right system for your house or if something else would serve you better. Jieye.