Replace gas ducted heating with reverse cycle in Melbourne, with the Victorian discount arranged for you

The Victorian Energy Upgrades program gives an upfront discount when a gas ducted heater is replaced with an efficient reverse cycle system. It is not a rebate you claim afterwards and it is not money from us; it comes off your quote before you pay. FreshDuct arranges it through our accredited installation partners, and it has to be arranged before any work starts, not after.

The conditions that matter. The gas ducted heater must still be connected to the gas supply and must be the main heating in the home. A heater that was pulled out last year does not qualify. The system being replaced must be more than two years old. The new unit must be on the Victorian register of approved products, must heat as well as cool, and must carry a five year manufacturer warranty. Every Victorian household and business is eligible, including private rentals with the landlord’s approval. A minimum co-payment always applies, so nobody can honestly tell you the system costs nothing.

The figures. The indicative discounts are published by the Victorian Government and move with the market, so we do not print them here. The office confirms yours on the quote, with the discount already taken off. Our VEU heating and cooling discount page explains how the discount works, and our gas ducted to reverse cycle guide covers the background.

Under the program the old heater cannot simply be switched off and left in the roof. It has to be made permanently unusable, the gas line has to be capped, and the installer has to photograph the result. We do all of it on the day.

The gas side. The gas line to the heater is disconnected and capped by a licensed gasfitter. Only the heater line is touched; a gas cooktop or hot water service stays connected unless you decide to move those too. If the ducted heater was the last gas appliance in the house, we will tell you, because the daily supply charge on a gas account with nothing on it is worth a conversation with your retailer. Our gas disconnection guide goes into that.

The heater. In a weatherboard or a period home the heater usually sits in the roof space near the manhole. In a 1970s or 1980s brick veneer it is often under the floor with outlets in the floorboards. Either way it comes out and is taken away, and the space it leaves is where the fan coil goes on a roof-mounted system. If there was an old add-on cooling unit bolted to the heater, the refrigerant in it is recovered by an ARC-licensed technician before it goes anywhere.

The photos. The program requires a photo record showing the old heater rendered unusable. You get those photos, along with the before and after shots we take on every job, so you can see the capped line and the empty roof space for yourself.

This is where changeover quotes go wrong. The program guidance recommends replacing the ductwork and fittings when a gas ducted heater becomes ducted reverse cycle, and it says so because the two systems ask different things of the ducts. A gas heater pushes a small volume of very warm air through narrow runs. A reverse cycle fan coil moves a much larger volume of air at a gentler temperature, and in summer that air is cold and the duct has to be insulated well enough not to sweat in a hot roof. Duct that was adequate for gas is often undersized, under-insulated or simply worn out for reverse cycle.

We have spent fifteen years inside Melbourne roof spaces cleaning and inspecting ducts, so we do not guess. Before the quote is confirmed, we look at every run and photograph it: the insulation thickness, the joints, whether the flex has been crushed by stored boxes or chewed by possums, how the outlets are sized, and where the return air grille sits. Sound, well sized, well sealed duct with a good return can sometimes stay. Underfloor duct feeding floor outlets is the case we most often end up replacing, and it is one we decide only after looking.

Whatever we find, you see the photos and get a plain recommendation. If new ducts are the right answer we say so up front, and the office builds them into the firm price. We will not quote reuse to win the job and change our mind on the day.

The Victorian program recognises three replacement paths for a ducted gas heater, and the right one depends on the house rather than the discount.

Ducted reverse cycle is the like-for-like path: one fan coil in the roof, every room from ceiling outlets, zones on the controller. It suits most three and four bedroom homes with a usable roof space and is what our ducted reverse cycle page covers in detail.

A multi-split is one outdoor unit feeding wall heads in two to five rooms. Under the program every indoor unit has to come from the same manufacturer as the outdoor unit. It suits period homes with no roof space for a fan coil, homes where only some rooms need conditioning, and anyone who wants each room on its own remote. Our multi-head page explains it.

Four single splits, typically one larger head in the living area and three smaller ones in bedrooms, is the path when the outdoor units can be spread around the house and the walls are easy. It gives each room independence at the cost of more outdoor units.

On the call the office asks about the roof space, the rooms you actually use and the walls, and recommends one path. The discount differs between the three, and the office confirms the figure on the quote rather than on this page.