What should a Melbourne heat pump hot water quote include?

A heat pump quote should describe a completed hot water installation at your home, not simply a tank delivered to the driveway. The missing work can matter as much as the equipment price.

Ask for the model, location and scope to be settled before you compare totals. A cheap-looking proposal is hard to assess if key electrical or plumbing items remain provisional.

Start with the heat pump options, then compare what each installer proposes to do with that equipment.

Identify the equipment and the demand it serves

Request the exact heat pump, tank and controller model numbers. For a split system, identify both major components. Record tank capacity and the reason it suits your household’s demand.

Ask how the proposal accounts for winter recovery, shower habits and future occupancy. A larger tank is not automatically a better design, and a brand name alone is not a complete specification.

Solar Victoria installation guidance.

Keep the accepted equipment schedule with your quote. If substitution is proposed later, ask to review the alternative model and its implications before agreeing.

Separate the plumbing and electrical scope

The site assessment should establish the base, pipe routes, required valves, insulation and drainage arrangements. Ask which existing components can be retained and why.

The electrical section should identify the required circuit and any assessed switchboard work. Do not assume that an old board needs replacement, or that a former gas heater has a suitable supply beside it.

For a narrow side passage, include the delivery route and servicing space. Getting the tank into position is different from leaving enough room for it to operate and be maintained.

Our supply capacity guide explains why mains capacity and switchboard work are separate questions.

Write down removal, timing and exclusions

Clarify who removes and disposes of the old heater, makes good any affected surfaces and handles gas work where applicable. Ask how long the home is expected to be without hot water.

An illustrative example: one quote includes the old tank’s removal and a new base; another assumes both are already arranged. The totals are not comparable until those assumptions are aligned.

A provisional allowance can be reasonable when an item cannot yet be confirmed. It needs a named issue, a decision point and a clear method for approving any variation.

Check the final payment and handover

Show the installed cost before incentives, each proposed incentive and the amount you must pay if eligibility is confirmed. Avoid treating an unapproved discount as money already secured.

Request the commissioning and handover scope: demonstrated owner controls, agreed schedule, manuals, applicable certificates, warranty terms and a service contact.

For Solar Homes installations, current program requirements include a whole-of-system warranty. Confirm the actual program and written terms rather than assuming every advertised heat pump has identical cover.

Current Solar Victoria requirements.

If solar timing is part of the offer, the timer and winter guide helps frame the handover questions.

A quote is ready when the unknowns are visible

We would hold off accepting a proposal that leaves the equipment model, installation location or major electrical scope unresolved. Those decisions can change both cost and suitability.

You do not need a long technical contract to ask useful questions. A clear itemised scope, honest exclusions and named responsibilities are the essentials.

Ask Lightning Energy to review your proposed installation. Bring photos of the existing heater, its location and the available access so the comparison starts with your site.