Cairns details that change the answer
One home in six is a flat or apartment
At the 2021 Census, 15.7% of occupied homes in the Cairns council area were flats or apartments, more than Queensland's 12.5%. Another 35.0% of homes were rented.
Cloud comes with the wet
Cairns Aero averages 134.9 cloudy days a year, with 17.4 in February alone. Mean daily solar exposure is 19.8 MJ per square metre over the year, ranging from 15.4 in June to 23.5 in November (2007 to 2026).
Mild winter mornings
The July mean minimum at the airport is 17.2°C, and the lowest temperature recorded there is 6.2°C. There's no frost to plan around.
In a unit block, check who owns the system
Some Queensland apartment buildings use bulk hot water: a central boiler, usually gas, or storage tanks, or a bank of instant heaters, with a meter for each household. The body corporate may own it, or an energy retailer may, and the state says you're unlikely to be able to switch provider.
Bulk hot water is metered and billed separately from cold water, sometimes as its own bill or a line on your electricity or gas bill. If your unit has no heater of its own, report a fault to the body corporate or building manager before booking a plumber.
If your unit has its own tank or heater, book a hot water specialist as you would for a house.
What Queensland requires when it's replaced
A temperature control device has to go on all new and replacement systems in Queensland. There's no exemption for a like-for-like swap. See tempering valves for how they work.
The tank must heat water to 60°C or more to control Legionella, and the guidance is for no more than 50°C at the taps. If the water seems too hot or too cool, leave the thermostat: Queensland Health wants a licensed electrician to adjust it.
Heat pumps and solar systems can only be installed by a hot water installer holding the QBCC's solar and heat pump endorsement.
Options for a Cairns home
| What to raise with the installer | Who can install it | |
|---|---|---|
| Electric storage | Size it to the household, and plan space for the temperature control device. | A licensed plumber. |
| Heat pump | Where the unit sits on a balcony or slab, and the noise for neighbours in a unit block. | An installer with the QBCC solar and heat pump endorsement. |
| Solar | Boosting through cloudy February days, and roof access in a strata building. | An installer with the same endorsement. |
| Gas | Whether the home runs on LPG bottles or mains gas. | A licensed gasfitter for the gas side. |
Help with the price
Eligible heat pumps under 425 L and solar water heaters under 700 L can create small-scale technology certificates (STCs), as long as the model is on the register. The usual route is assigning them to an agent for a discount or a delayed payment, and the scheme runs until 2030. STCs explained covers the detail.
We haven't confirmed any current Queensland Government hot water rebate, so none is covered here. Check our Queensland page for updates.
Questions to ask a Cairns hot water plumber
- Is this a part I can replace, or has the tank itself failed?
- Does my unit have its own system, or is it on the building's bulk supply?
- Do you hold the QBCC solar and heat pump endorsement?
- How will this solar system boost through the wet season?
- Which STC discount is included, and is the model on the register?
What we would do
In a unit, find out first whether the hot water is yours or the building's; a call to the body corporate can save a wasted visit. In a house, get a hot water specialist to say whether it's a part or the tank before you discuss new systems. If you're weighing solar, ask how it performs through a cloudy February, and get the STC discount and temperature control device written into one quote. Then check the installer's QBCC endorsement yourself.