Let’s talk hydronic heating.

Up until I moved to the UK for a stint living the London life, I’d only ever known of ducted heating in the home. When I was in the UK, I remember thinking how outdated the hydronic heating panels seemed. I wondered why the British wouldn’t “get with the times” and use ducted heating.

This shows my stage of life and the idea of making an informed decision about heating solutions was far from my mind. Coming back from the UK, and starting our property search, I began to see them pop up in houses for sale. I wondered why? Why would people take up precious wall space with these eyesores? Having chatted to enough people though, I’m here to tell you why this “trend” has “caught on” in Australia (!):

  • You have more control over the heat that circulates your home. You can adjust the level in individual zones or rooms or turn them off entirely if a room is unused.
  • It’s great for those with allergies, such as asthma, which effects a significant number of people in Australia, with less dust blowing out compared to other heating systems available.
  • With less dust and other stuff spitting out of the heating, it comes with the benefit of less noise too. This sealed the deal for me as our ducted heating unit wakes our 5 year old up every morning!
  • No smell. Though, this could be unique to our house as I’m sure our kids have shoved half of their toys down our ducts! Haha.
  • It’s an even heat that you didn’t even know you needed. That feeling of comfort surrounding you constantly – not just when you are closely positioned to the source… now that’s living the dream.
  • And it’s energy efficient. It might be a bigger cost outlay to begin with but the savings will be reaped over the long term. It’s suggested that hydronic heating will cost approximately 20% less for houses with 2.7m ceilings, and up to 30-40% for homes with even higher ceilings like our period home.*

So if I’ve haven’t convinced you yet on the idea of hydronic heating, then let me leave you with some parting words from, George, who has just moved back into his fully renovated home that looks like something out of the Design Files…

“Our heating is by far my favourite thing about this house. Every day it’s like coming home to a warm hug.”

Sold.

Here are some hydronic heating suppliers that come highly recommended from fellow Inner Westies:

And to give you some guide on the figures people are talking….

It’s best to expect to pay between $10k – $12k for a 3 or 4 bed room house, or budget approximate $900 for each panel.

*www.hydroheat.com.au