Heating and cooling rebates in Tasmania
The longest heating season, the cleanest grid, and nothing to help you pay for it.
The short answer is that there is nothing to claim — no state scheme, and the federal certificates cover water heaters and solar panels but not heating and cooling. So this page does the other job: what heating actually costs in the capital with the longest winter in the country, and where the money goes instead when there is no discount to chase.
What you can claim in Tasmania
Nothing — in the state with the longest heating season in the country
There is no Tasmanian rebate for heating or cooling and no federal scheme covering it. That lands harder here than anywhere else: Hobart has 1,813 heating degree days, second only to Canberra, and a Tasmanian house is being heated for more of the year than any other capital's.
Two things soften it. Tasmanian electricity is cheap by national standards at 28.0c a kilowatt hour, and the grid is almost entirely hydro and wind at 0.20 kg of CO₂ a kilowatt hour — so the emissions case for electric heating is already won here without anyone paying you to switch.
And with no system rebate to chase, the building fabric is where the return is. A longer heating season means insulation and draught sealing pay back faster in Tasmania than anywhere else in Australia, and neither needs an accredited provider or a scheme to be open.
Why Tasmania is different
Tasmania has no state rebate for heating or cooling, and there is no federal scheme, so there is nothing available. That is a harder outcome here than almost anywhere, because Hobart has 1,813 heating degree days — second only to Canberra, and with effectively no cooling season at all to offset them.
The compensation is that Tasmanian electricity is both cheap by national standards at 28.0c per kilowatt hour and almost entirely hydro and wind. At a grid intensity of 0.20 kg of CO₂-equivalent per kilowatt hour, anything you heat with electricity in Tasmania is close to emissions-free already.
With no incentive available, the building fabric is where the money is. A Tasmanian house heats for the longest season in the country, which means insulation and draught sealing pay back faster here than anywhere else — and unlike a system upgrade, nobody has to approve it.
What it costs to heat and cool a house here
A 160 m² house built before 2005, heated and cooled for a full year at Tasmania's reference rates. On these assumptions the cheapest option in Tasmania is single split system at about $572 a year — though read the conditions column, because it is not conditioning the same amount of house as the ones below it.
| System | Conditions | Per year | Installed | 10-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single split system | One main living area | $572 | $2,600 | $8,324 |
| Multi-split system | Most of the house | $1,304 | $8,500 | $21,537 |
| Ducted reverse cycle | The whole house | $1,870 | $15,500 | $34,202 |
| Ceiling fans | Cools only — you would still need something for winter. | |||
| Ducted evaporative cooling | Cools only — you would still need something for winter. | |||
| Gas space heater | Reticulated natural gas reaches very few homes in Tasmania. | |||
| Electric panel or fan heater | Heats only — you would still need something for summer. | |||
| Ducted gas heating | Reticulated natural gas reaches very few homes in Tasmania. |
A 160 m² pre-2005 house in Tasmania — 1,813 heating and 0 cooling degree days — at 28.0c/kWh, heating and cooling for a full year. Read the conditions column: the cheap options are partly cheap because they condition less of the house.
Your own house will differ. Put your floor area, insulation and rates into the heating and cooling cost calculator and every figure recalculates.
Every state, for comparison
| State or territory | Scheme | Indicative value | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Victoria | Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) | $1,000–$3,500 | Co-payment rose 30/09/2026 |
| New South Wales | Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) | $200–$2,600 | — |
| Australian Capital Territory | Home Energy Support Program | $0–$2,500 | — |
| South Australia | Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS) | $300–$1,500 | — |
| Queensland | Climate Smart Energy Savers | $0–$1,000 | — |
| Western Australia | no state scheme | — | — |
| Tasmania | no state scheme | — | — |
| Northern Territory | no state scheme | — | — |
There is no federal rebate for heating or cooling. Small-scale Technology Certificates apply to water heaters and solar panels only, so unlike a hot water upgrade there is no national floor — what you get depends entirely on your state. Every figure is indicative and delivered as a discount by an accredited installer rather than claimed back. Last verified 5 September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any heating or cooling rebate in Tasmania?
No — no state scheme, and the federal certificates cover water heaters and solar panels, not space conditioning. Tasmania is one of three jurisdictions, with Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where nothing is currently on offer.
Why does that absence sting more in Hobart than elsewhere?
1813 heating degree days — second only to Canberra — with essentially no cooling season to offset it. A Tasmanian home is heated for more of the year than almost anywhere else in the country, with no subsidy attached to the system that does it.
What does it cost to run a ducted system in Hobart?
About $1,870 a year for a 160 m² pre-2005 house at 28.0c per kilowatt hour — cheap power by national standards, spent over a very long heating season. A multi-split covering less floor area comes to roughly $1,304.
Where is the saving, if there is no rebate to chase?
In the building itself. A longer heating season means insulation and draught sealing pay back faster in Tasmania than anywhere else in Australia, and unlike a system rebate, neither needs a scheme to be open or a provider to be accredited.