How to electrify Your Hot Water with a Heat Pump
6 mins
May 2026
Overview
Hot water - we all love it, but most of us don’t realise just how much energy it burns. In the average Aussie home, hot water uses a massive 23% of total household energy, making it the second largest energy drain after heating and cooling. And can add up to around one fifth of the greenhouse gases produced by Australian homes.
One of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting until their existing hot water system dies before doing any research. By then, you're rushed, overwhelmed, and often end up replacing it with another gas unit - locking you into higher bills and higher emissions for years.
In this episode, we break down how heat pump hot water systems work, why they’re 3-6 times more efficient, and the two main types you’ll come across when shopping around. We’ll also cover the practical stuff: noise, space requirements, servicing, and how to choose the right system and the right installer - before you’re stuck without hot water and forced into a quick decision.
With the right planning, electrifying your hot water is simpler, cleaner, and more cost effective than you might think.
Watch
Read
0:02
Quiet on set please.
0:09
Hi, I'm Sarah Aubrey from Electrify This and this is Bindi.
0:13
Welcome to How to electrify your hot water system.
0:16
I'll be sharing what I've learned on my own electrification journey and to help make yours simpler and easier.
0:24
We all love hot water, but did you know it's actually one of the biggest energy uses in the average Aussie home?
0:32
It soaks up about 23% of your household's total energy, making it the second largest drain after heating and cooling.
0:40
All that hot water adds up to about 1/5 of greenhouse gases coming from Australian homes.
0:46
When looking to electrify, one of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting to do the research after their system dies.
0:53
When that happens, you're rushed, and the quickest option offered is often just another gas unit.
0:58
I'll explain how heat pump hot water systems work, why they're three to six times more efficient, and the two main types you'll come across.
1:06
With the right system and a bit of planning, electrifying your hot water is simpler than you think.
1:14
When it comes to gas and old school electric tanks, they actually have to burn something or create energy, so they're really, really energy hungry.
1:23
But a heat pump doesn't do that.
1:25
It takes heat that already exists and it just moves it.
1:28
It draws it in and then it heats the tank.
1:31
With old school tech, for every one unit of energy, you get 1 unit back.
1:35
They're say 100% efficient at best, but with a heat pump, they're between 3 and 6 times efficient.
1:41
So for every one unit of energy, you get between 3 and 6 units of energy and that is why they are so cheap to run and so efficient.
1:52
Hot water was the final part of my electrification journey.
1:56
I just didn't want to pay that daily surcharge, and I wanted to just decarbonise my house and get it off gas.
2:02
This tank is actually made in Victoria in Morwell, which is in the Latrobe Valley.
2:07
This is an Earthworker tank.
2:09
It's made by coal workers retrained in the Australian manufacturing industry to make these stainless steel tanks wrapped in locally sourced recycled plastics.
2:19
It is more expensive, but I wanted to support Aussie manufacturing jobs.
2:23
The next thing I wanted to think about was I have solar, so I wanted to power this with solar.
2:27
So I have a lovely little timer here and it's got four or five different times you can put it on.
2:32
So it either comes on at 10am or 11am and it uses about 1000 watts over 2 hours, which is 2 kilowatt hours, which is not very much at all.
2:40
And it's covered by the solar.
2:42
So it's essentially free hot water, which is great.
2:45
This is the compressor, it's a Reclaim.
2:47
It's made in Japan and this is incredibly quiet.
2:50
That was one of my favourite things about it.
2:51
In fact, it's quieter than my air conditioner.
2:53
So this is my heat pump.
2:54
It's a split system.
2:55
This is a 315 litre tank.
2:58
I love it, it's beautiful and it was my final part of the puzzle.
3:04
There are two main types of heat pumps, a split system, which is this.
3:07
So you have the tank separate from the compressor or an all-in-one where it's basically just the tank and the compressor is built into the top of the tank.
3:16
And they all have their pros and cons.
3:18
The primary one is that an all-in-one unit is generally cheaper but you are limited with how much water it can hold. If you go for a separate system like this, you can get up to a 400 litre tank. With a separate unit you’ve got a bit of leeway in where you put tis. You can put it on the ground, put it on the wall or you can put it above the tank if space is an issue. The other thing is noise; an all-in-one tank is generally noisier. Generally, split systems do tend to be quieter, so that's sort of the main differences between them.
3:46
It's really up to you if space is an issue, maybe an all-in-one is the go, but if you have a bigger household you probably want to go with a split.
3:53
Get on groups like on Facebook My Efficient Electric Home, they have this fantastic spreadsheet about heat pumps.
4:00
You can go through and look at all the different types, how efficient they are, all the information you need about it or your local Facebook group and ask for installers in your area.
4:10
When it comes to trades, you'll need a plumber for the installation of the main unit, and they may already work with an electrician to connect it directly to your power board.
4:18
But if not, you'll just need to organise one yourself.
4:23
To help the installation go smoothly, check with your plumber ahead of time so you reduce the risk of surprises.
4:26
The day that your system dies, you're going to be stressed.
4:29
People are going to be yelling, going, there's no hot water.
4:31
You're not going to want to sit down at your computer and figure this stuff out.
4:34
You also want to know if that particular installer keeps stock.
4:37
And if they don't keep stock and you have instantaneous gas hot water, ask whether they can come over and just put a temporary unit on the wall so that while you're waiting for your unit to turn up, you've got hot water.
4:48
GWP, or global warming potentials refers to the refrigerants being used in your heat pump.
4:54
The lower that number, the better for the environment the heat pump is.
4:58
This one is a GWP of 1 and it's carbon dioxide, which is actually perfect.
5:03
One thing you do need to consider about an all-in-one system is that it does need to be serviced more often, every three to five years, and you must service it for this reason and this reason alone.
5:14
The sacrificial anode.
5:16
This is brilliant.
5:16
There is a piece of metal inside the tank and it sacrifices itself over those three to five years and if you don't replace it, the tank will rust, which means the whole thing is written off, so you must get it serviced.
5:30
It acts as tribute, the sacrificial anode.
5:33
This is called a valve cosy.
5:35
If it doesn't have this, ask your installer to add one.
5:37
They're like 20 bucks but they can save you up to 1 kWh a day of energy because of heat loss through this valve.
5:44
So you want to cover it and make sure it's nice and cosy.
5:49
So, 3 takeaways on hot water heat pumps.
5:51
They're much more efficient.
5:53
If you do your research beforehand, the whole process will be really simple.
5:58
And if you have solar, once you've installed your heat pump, it's basically free hot water.
6:02
And remember, if you go all electric, no more gas bills and you're saving on that daily gas charge.
6:09
So that's the rundown on why hot water heat pump systems are the one most efficient upgrade you can make to your home.
6:15
See you next time.
6:18
Don't forget to check out our other videos on this How to Electrify series to help you on your journey.
6:23
If you'd like more information or handy resources on electrification, visit goodenergy.ausgrid.com.au.
6:31
Otherwise Bindi might growl at you.
Quiet on set please.
0:09
Hi, I'm Sarah Aubrey from Electrify This and this is Bindi.
0:13
Welcome to How to electrify your hot water system.
0:16
I'll be sharing what I've learned on my own electrification journey and to help make yours simpler and easier.
0:24
We all love hot water, but did you know it's actually one of the biggest energy uses in the average Aussie home?
0:32
It soaks up about 23% of your household's total energy, making it the second largest drain after heating and cooling.
0:40
All that hot water adds up to about 1/5 of greenhouse gases coming from Australian homes.
0:46
When looking to electrify, one of the biggest mistakes people make is waiting to do the research after their system dies.
0:53
When that happens, you're rushed, and the quickest option offered is often just another gas unit.
0:58
I'll explain how heat pump hot water systems work, why they're three to six times more efficient, and the two main types you'll come across.
1:06
With the right system and a bit of planning, electrifying your hot water is simpler than you think.
1:14
When it comes to gas and old school electric tanks, they actually have to burn something or create energy, so they're really, really energy hungry.
1:23
But a heat pump doesn't do that.
1:25
It takes heat that already exists and it just moves it.
1:28
It draws it in and then it heats the tank.
1:31
With old school tech, for every one unit of energy, you get 1 unit back.
1:35
They're say 100% efficient at best, but with a heat pump, they're between 3 and 6 times efficient.
1:41
So for every one unit of energy, you get between 3 and 6 units of energy and that is why they are so cheap to run and so efficient.
1:52
Hot water was the final part of my electrification journey.
1:56
I just didn't want to pay that daily surcharge, and I wanted to just decarbonise my house and get it off gas.
2:02
This tank is actually made in Victoria in Morwell, which is in the Latrobe Valley.
2:07
This is an Earthworker tank.
2:09
It's made by coal workers retrained in the Australian manufacturing industry to make these stainless steel tanks wrapped in locally sourced recycled plastics.
2:19
It is more expensive, but I wanted to support Aussie manufacturing jobs.
2:23
The next thing I wanted to think about was I have solar, so I wanted to power this with solar.
2:27
So I have a lovely little timer here and it's got four or five different times you can put it on.
2:32
So it either comes on at 10am or 11am and it uses about 1000 watts over 2 hours, which is 2 kilowatt hours, which is not very much at all.
2:40
And it's covered by the solar.
2:42
So it's essentially free hot water, which is great.
2:45
This is the compressor, it's a Reclaim.
2:47
It's made in Japan and this is incredibly quiet.
2:50
That was one of my favourite things about it.
2:51
In fact, it's quieter than my air conditioner.
2:53
So this is my heat pump.
2:54
It's a split system.
2:55
This is a 315 litre tank.
2:58
I love it, it's beautiful and it was my final part of the puzzle.
3:04
There are two main types of heat pumps, a split system, which is this.
3:07
So you have the tank separate from the compressor or an all-in-one where it's basically just the tank and the compressor is built into the top of the tank.
3:16
And they all have their pros and cons.
3:18
The primary one is that an all-in-one unit is generally cheaper but you are limited with how much water it can hold. If you go for a separate system like this, you can get up to a 400 litre tank. With a separate unit you’ve got a bit of leeway in where you put tis. You can put it on the ground, put it on the wall or you can put it above the tank if space is an issue. The other thing is noise; an all-in-one tank is generally noisier. Generally, split systems do tend to be quieter, so that's sort of the main differences between them.
3:46
It's really up to you if space is an issue, maybe an all-in-one is the go, but if you have a bigger household you probably want to go with a split.
3:53
Get on groups like on Facebook My Efficient Electric Home, they have this fantastic spreadsheet about heat pumps.
4:00
You can go through and look at all the different types, how efficient they are, all the information you need about it or your local Facebook group and ask for installers in your area.
4:10
When it comes to trades, you'll need a plumber for the installation of the main unit, and they may already work with an electrician to connect it directly to your power board.
4:18
But if not, you'll just need to organise one yourself.
4:23
To help the installation go smoothly, check with your plumber ahead of time so you reduce the risk of surprises.
4:26
The day that your system dies, you're going to be stressed.
4:29
People are going to be yelling, going, there's no hot water.
4:31
You're not going to want to sit down at your computer and figure this stuff out.
4:34
You also want to know if that particular installer keeps stock.
4:37
And if they don't keep stock and you have instantaneous gas hot water, ask whether they can come over and just put a temporary unit on the wall so that while you're waiting for your unit to turn up, you've got hot water.
4:48
GWP, or global warming potentials refers to the refrigerants being used in your heat pump.
4:54
The lower that number, the better for the environment the heat pump is.
4:58
This one is a GWP of 1 and it's carbon dioxide, which is actually perfect.
5:03
One thing you do need to consider about an all-in-one system is that it does need to be serviced more often, every three to five years, and you must service it for this reason and this reason alone.
5:14
The sacrificial anode.
5:16
This is brilliant.
5:16
There is a piece of metal inside the tank and it sacrifices itself over those three to five years and if you don't replace it, the tank will rust, which means the whole thing is written off, so you must get it serviced.
5:30
It acts as tribute, the sacrificial anode.
5:33
This is called a valve cosy.
5:35
If it doesn't have this, ask your installer to add one.
5:37
They're like 20 bucks but they can save you up to 1 kWh a day of energy because of heat loss through this valve.
5:44
So you want to cover it and make sure it's nice and cosy.
5:49
So, 3 takeaways on hot water heat pumps.
5:51
They're much more efficient.
5:53
If you do your research beforehand, the whole process will be really simple.
5:58
And if you have solar, once you've installed your heat pump, it's basically free hot water.
6:02
And remember, if you go all electric, no more gas bills and you're saving on that daily gas charge.
6:09
So that's the rundown on why hot water heat pump systems are the one most efficient upgrade you can make to your home.
6:15
See you next time.
6:18
Don't forget to check out our other videos on this How to Electrify series to help you on your journey.
6:23
If you'd like more information or handy resources on electrification, visit goodenergy.ausgrid.com.au.
6:31
Otherwise Bindi might growl at you.