Why the Victorian government has little common sense when it comes to hot water systems

But these problems have been around for a long time, thus raising the issue to why Victorian consumers were/are not given greater choice with their heating systems. With regard to Dux Sunpro solar hot water systems, the system attached to our new house in 2012, a Canberra installer notes that between 2009 and 2012 a large number of such products were installed in the Canberra Queanbeyan region with frost protection measures which did not prevent many from splitting.

While the panels were meant to be protected by an electronic frost protection system, including a pump station to circulate water and an anti-frost valve opening at 2°C to allow water to escape from the panels to prevent freezing, such a design left an unprotected zone where most of the freezing and damage occurs in the panels.

So why does the Victorian government alone continue to persist with a flawed policy that is likely to cost many consumers much money in the future?

With our own adverse experience with a gas solar hot water system, we refused to spend one more dollar repairing the most recent breakdown after spending $515 earlier this year to replace a diverter valve.

While gas solar hot water systems already get much criticism, plumbers who attended my house in 2017 all agreed that they would not purchase such a product if they had the choice.

In fact, we would have saved over $4000 from product costs if we were given our new choice for the much cheaper and reliable instantaneous gas hot water system given that our gas solar system cost around $6000 when including GST and the 20% builder margin, a cost that easily surpasses any potential cost savings from solar energy heating.

It is high time that Albury Wodonga politicians (and others) representing the many regional Victorians living inland in colder areas are given greater product choice to reduce costs rather than the Victorian government merely supporting a vision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the expense of the consumer's purse.