Gas Hot Water Systems
Continuous flow and gas storage units for homes on ATCO mains gas or bottled LPG.
Learn more →The honest position on electric hot water
An electric storage tank is the cheapest hot water system to buy and almost always the most expensive to run. A 315 litre unit sitting outside a Silver Sands villa heats its full contents with a resistive element, then reheats it every time the temperature drifts down, whether or not anyone is home.
That still leaves plenty of situations where it is the right call: a rental or investment property where upfront cost governs, a holiday home used a few weeks a year, a unit with no gas and no roof access, or an emergency replacement where the tank has burst and the household needs hot water today.
We supply, install, service and repair both storage and instantaneous electric units, and we are authorised agents for Rheem, Dux, Vulcan, Aquamax and Rinnai.
Electric storage
An element in the base of an insulated cylinder heats the water and holds it at temperature. Simple, reliable and repairable — most faults are the element, the thermostat or the relief valve rather than the tank. Sizes commonly run from 25 litres under a sink up to 400 litres for large households.
Electric instantaneous
A compact unit with the element coiled around the flow path, heating only what passes through. Sensible for a single outlet — a laundry trough, a granny flat, a shop kitchen. Whole-of-house electric instantaneous draws heavy current and usually needs a dedicated circuit, so the electrical upgrade often costs more than the unit.
Running costs in Western Australia
Do not assume an off-peak tariff. In the eastern states, electric storage is frequently defended on the basis of cheap controlled-load overnight power; that arrangement is not generally available to WA households, so check directly with Synergy before budgeting on it. If you are paying a standard residential rate around the clock, a 250 to 315 litre electric tank is an expensive way to make hot water.
Two things change that maths. The first is rooftop solar PV — if you have panels, a timer that pushes the heating cycle into the middle of the day converts surplus generation into stored hot water. The second is a heat pump, which does the same job for roughly a third of the electricity and attracts federal small-scale technology certificates that come off the purchase price.
Repairs before replacement
Most "no hot water" calls on electric systems are not terminal. The sequence we work through is the isolation switch, the breaker, the thermostat, the element, and only then the cylinder. If water is pooling under the unit or running down an outside wall, the cylinder has gone and replacement is the only option — the repairs page explains how to isolate it safely in the meantime.
Replacement pricing, including the cost of moving a unit or changing fuel, is in the cost guide. If you are weighing electric against gas or solar, the selection guide lays the four options side by side.
Call (08) 9516 1934 for a free replacement quote or to book a repair.
More services
Explore our other services
Solar Hot Water Systems
Roof-mounted, split and evacuated tube solar with gas or electric boosting.
Learn more →Heat Pump Hot Water Systems
Air-source heat pumps suited to Mandurah's mild winters, standalone or retrofitted.
Learn more →Hot Water System Installation
Like-for-like swaps, relocations and fuel changeovers by licensed WA tradespeople.
Learn more →Hot Water Repairs
No hot water, leaking tanks, pilot light faults and tempering valve failures.
Learn more →
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
My electric hot water has stopped — what is the first thing to check?
Check the circuit breaker or fuse in the switchboard, and the isolation switch mounted near the unit itself. Both get knocked off by accident more often than people expect. If the breaker trips again straight away, stop and call, because that usually means the element has failed to earth and the unit needs isolating properly.
How long does an electric hot water element last?
Five to ten years is typical, but scheme water hardness around the Peel region coats elements in scale and shortens that. A scaled element works harder, runs hotter and eventually fails. Replacing the element and thermostat is a routine repair and far cheaper than a new tank, provided the cylinder itself is sound.
What size electric storage tank does my household need?
As a rough guide, 125 to 160 litres suits one or two people, 250 litres suits three or four, and 315 to 400 litres suits five or more or a household with a spa bath. Undersizing means cold showers at the end of the queue; oversizing means paying to keep water hot that nobody uses. Peak usage timing matters as much as the headcount.
Is a heat pump just a better electric system?
Functionally yes. A heat pump is an electric hot water system that moves heat instead of generating it, using roughly a third of the electricity for the same output. It costs several times more upfront and has a fan and compressor that can fail. In Mandurah's mild climate the efficiency holds up year round, which is why we recommend it over a straight element tank in most all-electric homes.
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