One network, any fuel.

Running-cost charts make the choice look simple, but on a real property the heat source is usually decided by a handful of practical constraints. These are the questions we work through on every site visit before recommending one.

• Is gas available, and will it stay? Victoria no longer allows new gas connections for most new homes, and the ACT has stopped new gas network connections, so if you are building in either an all-electric source is the default. In an existing gas home, a condensing boiler can still make sense for a high-temperature radiator retrofit, but we design the emitters so a heat pump can replace it later.
• What is the electrical supply? Smaller heat pumps run on single-phase power; larger homes and commercial loads may need three-phase, and some older switchboards need an upgrade either way. We check this before quoting, not on install day.
• Where can an outdoor unit live? An air-source unit needs free airflow, service access and a position that will not disturb neighbours at night. Tight side setbacks and strata courtyards can rule a site out or change the model.
• Roof and land. Solar thermal needs unshaded, ideally north-facing roof area of roughly 8–20 m². Geothermal needs either open land for horizontal trenches or rig access for vertical boreholes.
• Hot water too? Some heat pumps also make domestic hot water, which can remove a separate hot water system from both the plan and the switchboard load.
• Fuel and lifestyle. A wood or pellet burner suits rural properties with dry fuel storage and someone at home to manage it; it rarely suits a busy inner-city household.

The most future-proof decision is not the heat source at all. It is designing the emitters to run at low flow temperatures, so whatever source you choose now, or swap to in ten years, can drive them efficiently. For side-by-side detail, compare our hydronic heat pump range, electric and gas hydronic boilers and the electric boiler vs heat pump guide.