Author Donna Cameron lives with her family in a cottage shaded by beautiful spotted gums on our peninsula. Solar panels are not an option for their property, but the family has nevertheless found a way to make impressive savings on energy.
In 2023, Donna was keen to replace her small, ageing electric hot water system with something larger and more efficient. She was attracted to the NSW Government heat-pump hot water incentive that was available on the Central Coast. Many installers advertised new heat-pump systems for around $30–$33 out of pocket. It became known as “The $30 Rebate.”
Knowing that a heat pump could save money, she began calling the numbers on the many flyers that appeared in her letterbox.
“Many suppliers were offering brands I’d never heard of, and they were only too keen to come up from Western Sydney to install them,” Donna recalls. “I realised a lot of them were cowboys just chasing the job.”
Fortunately, she decided to contact our local plumbers instead.
“They advised me not to touch some of those hot water systems that came with the rebate. They felt the whole thing was a bit of a rip-off,” she says.
While many people genuinely did receive installations for around $30–$33, online discussion from the time suggest that the quality varied significantly between installers and brands. In 2024, the NSW Government tightened the rules following complaints about aggressive sales tactics, low-quality imported units and poor installations. The famous $30 rebate scheme came to an end, but Donna believes she was fortunate to avoid potential problems by choosing a local installer.
She says that Electrify Bouddi, through its network of trusted and reliable installers, has helped many residents avoid poor electrical work, cheap unknown brands and rushed installations.
Her heat pump was installed by Same Day Hot Water, an Electrify Bouddi partner, using a reputable Enviroheat heat pump.
“Although it didn’t cost $30, we’ve had it for several years and it has been fantastic. In the end, after the rebate it cost $1000 and our electricity bill went down by about a third.”
The family has developed a simple strategy to further maximise their savings.
“We realised we only need to run the heat pump for a couple of hours in the middle of the day and the water stays hot. Most people leave their hot water system running all the time, but in our case it isn’t necessary.”
Donna is also enthusiastic about the upcoming Federal government’s Solar Share Offer (SSO) offering three hours of free electricity every day, during periods of peak solar generation.
“It’s great for us because there’s usually someone at home between 11am and 2pm,” she says.
The family plans to do their washing, cook their main meal and heat their water during the middle of the day. It means the heat pump could effectively provide our hot water at little or no cost during those hours. “It’s a brilliant initiative, especially for people like us who can’t install solar.”
Equipment details:
| Equipment | Description | Installed by | Approx Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enviroheat | Heat pump hot water system | Same Day Hot Water | $1000 |
Read about all the simple ways you can reduce your energy use and cut emissions and find out about heat pumps on our Hot water guide.