Hot Water Systems for Perth Homes

The four types, and who each one suits

Gas continuous flow. Also called instantaneous. No tank, no standing heat loss, hot water for as long as the gas and water hold out. Mounted outside on a wall, needs a decent gas supply line, and the flow rate you buy determines how many showers can run at once. The default choice on a mains-gas street.

Gas storage. A cylinder heated by a burner underneath. Still very common in Perth, particularly in houses built before continuous flow became standard. Cheaper to buy than continuous flow, cheaper to run than electric, but it loses heat through the cylinder wall all day.

Electric storage. The simplest and cheapest to install. An element in a tank, often on a controlled off-peak tariff. The running cost is the worst of the four unless you have solar PV pushing into it during the day. This is the unit that suffers most from Perth's hard water.

Heat pump. An electric unit that moves heat from the air rather than generating it, using roughly a third of the electricity of a resistance element. Perth's mild climate suits it. It is noisier than a tank, needs airflow around it, and costs more up front — see the cost guide for the ranges.

Why the street matters more than the brochure

Most of the established Perth metro is on the reticulated natural gas network, and where mains gas exists, gas storage and continuous flow dominate for a straightforward reason: the running cost is lower than resistance electricity. Where gas is not reticulated — parts of the outer north, some newer estates, rural-residential blocks in the hills — the real choice is between an electric tank and a heat pump, and bottled LPG is a distant third because cylinder gas is expensive.

So the first question is never "which brand". It is: is there a gas meter in your meter box, and is there a bayonet or cooktop already connected? That answer removes half the options before anyone talks price.

Hard water, elements and anodes

Perth scheme water is hard. Dissolved calcium and magnesium come out of solution when the water is heated and deposit as scale on the heating surface. On an electric unit that means a coated element working harder to move the same heat, running hotter, and failing earlier. In the base of the cylinder it means a sediment layer that both insulates and holds moisture against the steel.

The sacrificial anode is the other casualty. It is a magnesium or aluminium rod that corrodes so the cylinder does not, and in hard water it is consumed faster. Once it is gone, the tank starts. Replacing it at around year five on a storage unit is one of the few maintenance items that genuinely pays for itself.

What we do

New installations and changeovers, including relocating a unit to a better position or switching fuel type. Repairs to elements, thermostats, thermocouples, gas valves, relief valves, anodes and tempering valves. And emergency replacement when a cylinder has split and the laundry floor is wet.

Servicing matters more than people expect. Draining sediment, checking the relief valve lifts and reseats, and looking at the anode is a short visit that adds years to a tank.

Signs your system is near the end

Rusty or discoloured hot water only on the hot side. A puddle under the unit that keeps coming back. Water that is hot then lukewarm mid-shower. Banging or kettling noises when it heats. A relief valve that drips continuously rather than occasionally. A pilot light that will not stay lit on an older gas storage unit.

Any one of those is worth a call. Two or more on a cylinder past ten years usually means planning a replacement rather than paying for a part.

We cover the metro from Joondalup to Mandurah — the service areas page has the full list.