Noise: where it sits matters
We don't publish noise levels. They vary by model, and we would only be repeating marketing. If the manufacturer gives a noise figure, compare models on it, and check the distance it was measured from.
Placement matters as much as the model. Think about your bedroom windows, your neighbour's windows, and corners or hard walls that bounce sound back into the house.
Placement checks before you sign
- Distance from bedrooms, yours and next door's.
- Room for the tank and the unit, plus space for a plumber to service it later.
- Air around it. An air source heat pump takes its heat from the air, so ask what clearance the manual needs.
- Somewhere for water to go. Ask whether the unit needs a drain point nearby.
- Access for repairs, without moving a fence, a shed or the bins every time.
Lukewarm or no hot water
Start with the simple checks. Is the power on at the switchboard, and has anything tripped? If the unit has a display, write down any error code before you call. Don't open the casing.
Don't turn the storage temperature down to save power either. Hot water kept at 60°C or more holds Legionella growth down. In Queensland, Queensland Health's advice is that a licensed electrician should make any thermostat adjustment.
Our no hot water guide walks through the rest.
Problems that start with the install
The wrong installer. Queensland only lets a hot water installer holding a QBCC solar and heat pump endorsement fit one. Ask to see it.
A model that misses out on STCs. The model has to be on the Clean Energy Regulator's register and under 425 L, and the install has to meet your state's installer licensing requirements.
The temperature device. Whether a replacement needs a tempering valve depends on the state. NSW and Queensland both require one when a hot water system is replaced. See tempering valves.
Sales tactics regulators have acted on
- "You won't pay anything." Victoria's VEU rules require minimum payments for certain upgrades, and NSW requires a minimum payment toward the system and installation.
- An offer to pay your share back. Victoria's Essential Services Commission banned a business in 2026, partly for reimbursing customers for the payments made for their upgrades.
- A logo that looks like the government's. The ESC acted against a business whose marketing logo resembled the Victorian Government logo.
- A knock on the door or a cold call about a VEU upgrade. Doorknocking and cold-call telemarketing are both banned under VEU in Victoria.
- A quote with no discount shown. NSW tells customers to get quotes confirming that the discount is included.
Questions to ask the plumber
- Where exactly will the unit go, and how close is that to bedrooms on both sides of the fence?
- Can it be set to heat at certain times of day?
- Does the manufacturer publish a noise figure for this model, and at what distance?
- Who services it if it fails, and what does the warranty cover?
- In Queensland: do you hold the QBCC solar and heat pump endorsement?
What we would do
Pick the spot before you pick the model. Walk the side of the house at night and ask yourself whether you'd mind hearing a unit run there. If the only spot is under a bedroom window, raise it with the plumber before you sign rather than after. Then have a plumber who specialises in hot water install it to the manual and show you how its settings work.