Resource list · Ballarat & Central Highlands
Ballarat heating and cooling resources.
Official and reference pages for Ballarat homeowners planning, servicing or replacing gas ducted heating, reverse cycle air conditioning or evaporative cooling.
How to use this page
Where to look things up yourself.
This list is for owners and renters in Ballarat and the surrounding district who want to check a fact at its source rather than take an installer's word for it. Each link goes to a Victorian or Australian government body, the City of Ballarat, a national licensing scheme or a Wikipedia article. Go to the group that matches your situation: gas safety first if an old heater worries you, the licence checks before work starts, and the consumer pages if something goes wrong after the job.
Gas safety
Gas heaters and carbon monoxide in older Ballarat houses.
- Energy Safe Victoria: Heating your home with gas. The state gas safety regulator's main page for households. It covers servicing, ventilation, why exhaust fans and rangehoods should not run with a heater on, carbon monoxide alarms and how to confirm a gasfitter holds the right licence for Type A appliances such as central heaters.
- Energy Safe Victoria: Open-flued gas space heaters FAQs. Read this if the house still has an old wall furnace or space heater alongside, or instead of, ducted heating. It lists what a proper service should include, from the visual check of the flue to the negative pressure and spillage test.
- Department of Health Victoria: Carbon monoxide poisoning in the home. The health department's page on symptoms, who is most at risk and what to do straight away if you suspect a gas appliance is spilling carbon monoxide. It also names heater models the department and Energy Safe Victoria advise against using until tested.
- Wikipedia: Carbon monoxide poisoning. Background on how carbon monoxide affects the body and why early symptoms are easy to mistake for flu during a Ballarat winter.
Before anyone starts
Checking a licence for gas, electrical and refrigerant work in Victoria.
- Australian Refrigeration Council: Look for the Tick licence check. Enter a technician's ARC licence number, or their first name and surname, to see whether their refrigerant handling licence is current and what type it is. Use it before anyone installs, services or repairs a reverse cycle or refrigerated cooling system.
- Energy Safe Victoria: Search a public register. Links to the registers of registered electrical contractors and licensed electrical workers, plus a search for a Certificate of Electrical Safety. Useful when a new system needs its own circuit or switchboard work.
- Energy Safe Victoria: Certificates of Electrical Safety for the community. Explains what a Certificate of Electrical Safety is, who issues it, and how to request a copy if you did not receive one after electrical work on your heating or cooling.
Gasfitters and plumbers in Victoria are registered and licensed by the Building and Plumbing Commission, as Energy Safe Victoria's gasfitter licences page explains. Ask to see the gasfitter's photo ID card, which lists the classes of work they hold.
Council
Heritage overlays in Ballarat before an outdoor unit or flue goes in.
- City of Ballarat: Heritage planning permits. The council's page for work on heritage properties. It explains how to book written advice or a pre-application meeting with the council's Heritage Advisors and links the Heritage Victoria guidelines for alterations in a Heritage Overlay. Check here before a condenser, roof unit or new flue goes on a street-facing wall.
- VicPlan. The Victorian Government planning map that the council's heritage page points to for checking whether a heritage overlay applies to an address.
Running costs
Comparing gas, reverse cycle and evaporative systems on efficiency.
- Energy Rating: Heating and cooling. The national appliance energy labelling program's guide to choosing a system. It explains the Zoned Energy Rating Label, which gives separate figures for hot, average and cold climates, and why a reverse cycle system heats more efficiently than a standard electric heater.
- Energy Rating Calculator. Compare the star ratings and estimated running costs of specific air conditioner models before you accept a quote that names a brand and model number.
- YourHome: Heating and cooling. The Australian Government's guide to home design and heating choices. Its section on ducted systems covers the energy used by fans and the heat lost through ducts that are not well sealed and insulated.
- energy.gov.au: Electrification. Background for anyone weighing a switch from gas ducted heating to an all-electric home, including how heating and cooling fits with hot water and cooking.
- Victorian Energy Compare. The Victorian Government's independent tool for comparing gas and electricity retail offers. Use it to price the gas and power you would actually be paying for under each option.
- City of Ballarat: Sustainable living at home. The council's tips on heating and cooling settings and rebates, and a pointer to the Energy Saver Kits you can borrow from Ballarat Libraries to check your home for heat loss.
Renters, landlords and disputes
Rental heating rules and problems after the install.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Rental properties minimum standards. Sets out the heating standard every rental must meet in the main living area, along with the other minimum standards. Landlords replacing a heater in a Ballarat rental should read the heating section first.
- Energy Safe Victoria: Residential property safety checks. Explains the gas and electrical safety checks rental providers must arrange, who can carry them out, and that tenants can ask to see the records.
- Consumer Affairs Victoria: Services not done with due care and skill. Your rights under the consumer guarantees if an installation or repair is done badly, including the difference between a major and a minor problem and the remedies for each.
Background reading
Ballarat winters and how the systems work.
- Bureau of Meteorology: Climate statistics for Ballarat Aerodrome. Long-term monthly temperature and rainfall averages for the Ballarat Aerodrome weather station, with records starting in 1908. A good reference when an installer talks about sizing a system for the coldest winter nights.
- Wikipedia: Central heating. How a central system warms many rooms from one heat source, with a history of the idea and a summary of the main types and energy sources.
- Wikipedia: Heat pump. The principle behind reverse cycle air conditioning: moving heat from outside air into the house rather than burning fuel to make it.
- Wikipedia: Evaporative cooler. How evaporative cooling works and why its cooling effect depends on how dry the outside air is.
Frequently asked questions
How often should a gas ducted heater be serviced in Victoria?
Energy Safe Victoria recommends that every gas heater, including central heating units, is serviced at least every two years by a qualified gasfitter, and that the service includes a test for carbon monoxide leakage. Its open-flued heater FAQ adds that the gasfitter should be endorsed to service Type A gas appliances.
How do I find out if my Ballarat property is in a heritage overlay?
The City of Ballarat heritage planning permits page lists VicPlan, the Victorian Government planning map, as the quick way to check for a heritage overlay. The same page explains how to request written advice or a pre-application meeting with the council's Heritage Advisors.
Does a rental property in Victoria need a fixed heater?
Yes. Consumer Affairs Victoria says every rental property must have a fixed heater, not a portable one, in good working order in the main living area. For rental agreements entered into from 29 March 2023 it must be an energy efficient fixed heater.
Plan heating or cooling for your Ballarat home.
Book an on-site measure and a written quote for ducted gas, reverse cycle or evaporative systems across the district.