Hot water rebates and running costs in Tasmania
The cleanest grid in the country and the hardest climate for a heat pump.
What a hot water system costs to run in Tasmania, what you can claim towards replacing it, and the local facts that change the answer here — the tariff structure, the climate and the grid.
What you can claim in Tasmania
Federal Small-scale Technology Certificates
$800–$1,200 off an eligible heat pump or solar thermal system
Available in every state. The installer claims the certificates and discounts your quote, so there is nothing for you to lodge. Tasmania sits in STC Zone 4, the lowest-value zone. Gas and electric resistance systems create no certificates.
Administered by the Clean Energy Regulator. Official scheme page. Last verified 5 September 2026.
There is no Tasmania hot water rebate
As at 5 September 2026, Tasmania runs no state-level rebate for replacing a hot water system. The federal Small-scale Technology Certificate scheme applies here as it does everywhere, and is worth roughly $800 to $1,200 off an eligible heat pump or solar thermal system.
That is the complete answer, and it is worth stating plainly rather than burying: if you have been searching for a Tasmania hot water rebate and finding only installer pages that imply one exists, this is why.
Why Tasmania is different
Tasmania's electricity is almost entirely hydro and wind, and its grid emissions factor of 0.20 kg CO₂-equivalent per kilowatt hour is the lowest in Australia — about a quarter of Victoria's. Anything you heat with electricity in Tasmania is close to emissions-free already, which removes the emissions argument from the decision and leaves it a straightforward question of money.
On money, Tasmania is also the hardest climate in the country for a heat pump. A heat pump extracts warmth from outside air, and Hobart has the least of it: the effective annual coefficient of performance here is about 2.14, the lowest of any capital, and the cold water entering the house averages 13.1 °C against Darwin's 27.6. A Tasmanian household needs roughly 40% more energy to heat the same volume of water as a Darwin one.
A heat pump is still comfortably the cheapest option in Tasmania, because the alternative is an element. Aurora Energy's Tariff 41 provides a controlled load rate of 21.1c for heating and hot water against the 28.0c standard Tariff 31, which narrows the gap but does not close it.
Reticulated natural gas reaches roughly 1% of Tasmanian homes, so any gas figure on this page should be read as indicative only. For practical purposes the choice in Tasmania is between a heat pump, an electric tank and solar thermal. There is no Tasmanian state rebate; federal certificates apply, and Tasmania sits in the lowest of the four STC zones, so the certificate value here is at the bottom of the national range.
Every system at Tasmania prices
A three-person household using 120 litres of hot water a day, at Tasmania's reference rates and the Hobart climate. On these assumptions the cheapest system to run in Tasmania is heat pump at about $414 a year.
| System | Cost per year | Rebates | 10-year total | CO₂e a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat pump | $414 | −$800 | $7,985 | 260 kg |
| Solar thermal with electric boost | $561 | −$800 | $11,313 | 358 kg |
| LPG instantaneous | $778 | — | $10,131 | 612 kg |
| Electric storage | $859 | — | $10,486 | 613 kg |
| LPG storage | $1,108 | — | $13,476 | 873 kg |
| Solar thermal with gas boost | Reticulated natural gas reaches very few homes in Tasmania. | |||
| Gas instantaneous | Reticulated natural gas reaches very few homes in Tasmania. | |||
| Gas storage | Reticulated natural gas reaches very few homes in Tasmania. |
A three-person household in Tasmania using 120 litres of hot water a day, at 28.0c/kWh and 3.05c/MJ for gas, with the Hobart climate and the Tasmania grid's emissions factor of 0.2 kg CO₂e per kWh. Change any of it in the calculator.
Your own household will differ. Put your bill figures into the calculator and every number above recalculates.
The certificate value is falling every January
The federal scheme is winding down on a fixed schedule. Certificates are deemed over a period that shortens by one year every 1 January, and the scheme ends in 2030 — so the same system installed in Tasmania in December earns about a fifth more than it would a few weeks later.
| Install year | Deeming period | Indicative value |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 6 years | — |
| 2026 (now) | 5 years | $800–$1,200 |
| 2027 | 4 years | $640–$960 |
| 2028 | 3 years | $480–$720 |
| 2029 | 2 years | $320–$480 |
| 2030 | 1 years | $160–$240 |
The certificates a heat pump creates are deemed over a period that shortens by one year every 1 January until the scheme ends in 2030. Waiting from December to January costs about a fifth of the discount, for exactly the same system. It is the one piece of timing advice on this site that is worth acting on.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest hot water system to run in Tasmania?
On our figures, heat pump, at about $414 a year for a three-person household using 120 litres a day at Tasmania's reference rates. That assumes the Hobart climate and a standard tariff; a different tariff or household size can change the ranking.
How much is a heat pump rebate worth in Tasmania?
$800 to $1,200 — the federal certificates only, because Tasmania runs no state hot water rebate. The exact figure depends on the system's capacity, your postcode's STC zone and the traded certificate price on the day, so it will only be pinned down on an accredited installer's quote.
What does electricity cost in Tasmania?
The reference rate is 28.0c per kilowatt hour with a daily supply charge of $1.68, from the OTTER-approved Aurora Energy standing offer 2026–27 effective 1 July 2026 (approved 25 June 2026). A controlled load circuit for hot water is available at 21.1c. Market offers from retailers are frequently below the reference rate — use your own bill figure in the calculator rather than ours.
Does a heat pump work properly in the Hobart climate?
Yes, though how well varies. On our model a heat pump in Tasmania achieves an effective annual coefficient of performance of about 2.14 against a nameplate figure of 3.2 — at the lower end nationally, because there is less heat in the air to move. Even at the bottom of that range it uses less than half the electricity of a resistance element, which is why it remains the cheapest electric option in every Australian jurisdiction.