Heating in Adelaide: hydronic, ducted, licences and REPS offers

Quick answer: Adelaide has a small but established hydronic and ducted gas heating trade, though most homes heat with reverse-cycle air conditioning or ducted gas rather than a boiler. Gas fitters are licensed by Consumer and Business Services (CBS), and the Office of the Technical Regulator oversees gas installation safety. Energy retailers offer discounts on efficient appliances through the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme.

A straight answer first: boilers are a niche way to heat a home in Australia. Most homes that have whole-house heating use reverse-cycle air conditioning or ducted gas heating, and many rely on split systems or space heaters. Water-based (hydronic) heating, where a gas boiler or heat pump warms water that runs through radiators or underfloor pipes, is a specialist product; in the public business listings we checked, hydronic specialists cluster in Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart. So this page covers all three: hydronic systems, ducted gas and heat pumps.

Adelaide’s winters are cool enough that central heating is common, and several Adelaide firms have specialised in hydronic and underfloor systems for years. Most households, though, choose ducted gas, ducted reverse-cycle or split systems. This guide covers the South Australian rules for gas work, the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme and local installers.

Who may do gas work in South Australia

In South Australia, gas fitters must be licensed, and Consumer and Business Services (CBS) keeps a public register where you can check that a person or company is licensed for the work. The Office of the Technical Regulator in the Department for Energy and Mining monitors and regulates the safety and technical standards of the state’s gas installation industry. After gas work, a licensed gas fitter issues a certificate of compliance; ask for your copy and keep it.

What to check	Where
Gas fitter or contractor licence	CBS licence holder register
Safety and technical standards of gas installations	Office of the Technical Regulator
Paperwork after the job	Certificate of compliance from the licensed gas fitter

Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme (REPS)

South Australia does not pay a fixed state rebate for heating appliances. Instead, the Retailer Energy Productivity Scheme requires larger energy retailers to deliver energy-saving activities, which can include free or discounted upgrades for households and small businesses. You do not have to be a customer of the retailer, different retailers offer different activities, and priority group households can get further discounts. The SA Government says anyone offering a REPS activity at your door must show photo ID and company details and give you a written information statement afterwards; complaints that the provider cannot resolve go to the Essential Services Commission of South Australia (ESCOSA).

Nationally, heat pump and solar hot water systems can earn small-scale technology certificates (STCs) under the federal Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme; the installer normally passes their value on as an upfront discount.

If you have an older hydronic boiler, compare replacing it like for like with moving to a heat pump as the heat source. Tempco Energy puts a gas boiler for a hydronic system at $3,000–$7,000 installed; see heat pump or replacement gas boiler for the running-cost side and boiler flow temperature if the system struggles to heat the house.

Typical prices

We have not found a price survey for this city alone, so these are national figures checked in September 2026. Tempco Energy’s 2026 guides put a complete hydronic system at $12,000–$40,000, a gas boiler for a hydronic system at $3,000–$7,000 supplied and installed, and a ducted gas heating system at $3,000–$10,000. Canstar Blue, citing a Perth installer, puts ducted reverse-cycle air conditioning at roughly $9,000–$20,000 installed, and Tempco puts a heat pump hot water system at $2,500–$4,500 before rebates. See our Australia heating costs guide for the full table.

Request a boiler quote

Free and no obligation. Tell us what you need and where, and we will look for a heating engineer who covers your area.

What do you need? * Country * Postcode * Town or city Property type How soon? *

Anything else we should know? (optional)

Your name * Email * Phone (optional) Best way to contact you

I agree that Best Boiler Deals may pass my details to a heating engineer covering my area so they can contact me about this request. Privacy policy.

We are a comparison and referral service, not a heating engineer. We do not guarantee a quote, a price or a response time. Anyone working on gas appliances in the UK must be on the Gas Safe Register; check the engineer's ID card before work starts.

How to choose an installer

Check the licence. Look the gas fitter or company up on the CBS licence holder register.
Get the paperwork. Ask what compliance certificate or notice the gasfitter will give you or lodge when the job is done.
Hydronic or ducted? Ask how many systems of your type the firm has installed, and whether it will size the boiler or heat pump from a heat-loss calculation rather than the old unit’s rating.
Rebates: most discounts are applied only by accredited or participating installers, so confirm eligibility before you sign.
REPS offers: ask the retailer or provider exactly what is discounted and get a written quote before agreeing to anything offered at the door.

Our guide to comparing installation quotes like for like has a fuller checklist, and water-based and warm-air heating explains how the two main system types differ.

Hydronic and heating installers in Adelaide

These businesses appear in public business listings for Adelaide, and each has its own website describing hydronic, ducted or heat pump work. We have not checked their work, prices, registrations or insurance, and they have not paid to appear.