Raising the bar on hot water efficiency: what the new policy proposal means for you

A new Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) has been released for public consultation, outlining options to lift the energy efficiency of heat pump water heaters in Australia and New Zealand.

This is a major step toward setting minimum performance standards and giving homeowners more transparent, reliable information when choosing a hot water system.

For Ecobulb customers, this is great news – it paves the way for more efficient homes and lower power bills.

Why heat pump water heaters are in the spotlight

• Second-largest household energy use: hot water heating is a major part of energy bills.

• 60% less energy use: heat pump water heaters can slash electricity consumption compared to traditional systems.

• No mandatory standards yet: performance varies widely between models, and consumers have limited information to compare products.

• Regulation can change this: stronger rules will help phase out inefficient products and reward high-performing systems.

What the RIS found

The government’s consultation paper identified two big issues in the current market:

Information barriers – It’s hard for consumers to compare efficiency, noise levels, or performance in real-world conditions.

Split incentives – Builders and installers often make decisions based on upfront cost, not long-term savings for the homeowner.

These gaps keep low-performing products on the market and slow down the shift to efficient systems.

Proposed policy options

Non-regulatory

·       Consumer education campaigns

·       Voluntary labels and testing programs

(Useful, but unlikely to fix the core issues alone.)

Regulatory

·       Mandatory testing and product registration

·       Clear performance and efficiency labelling

·       Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS)

·       Climate rating labels for different regions

·       Ensuring good performance on noise, hot water delivery, and recharge time.

These changes aim to make performance more transparent and push the market toward better products.

The impact for homeowners

If the policy goes ahead, here’s what you can expect:

·       Lower power bills from more efficient hot water systems

·       Better performance transparency with standardised labels and published data

·       Tighter quality standards that phase out poor-performing units

·       Lower emissions and contribution to net zero goals

This shift will make choosing a reliable, efficient hot water system easier and more future-proof.

Emerald heat pump water heaters: already ahead of the curve

Emerald hot water heat pump systems already meet – and in many cases exceed – the performance targets the RIS aims to make mandatory.

Here’s why:

• High Coefficienct of Performance (COP) of up to 5.2 under standard test conditions. This means for every 1 kW of electricity consumed, up to 5.2 kW of heat energy is transferred into the water. This is the highest COP available in the New Zealand market.

• Uses DC inverter compressor technology, allowing variable output rather than simple on/off cycling.

• Designed for reliable operation down to –12 °C ambient temperature.

• Rapid recovery rate of approximately 112 L/hour using boost mode.

• Operating noise levels as low as 42 dB(A) at 1 metre – significantly quieter than many competitor units and includes a silent mode.

• Wi-Fi enabled monitoring and control.

Why this matters

Emerald heat pump water heaters already deliver the efficiency, reliability, and transparency that future regulations are designed to enforce. By investing now, homeowners can:

• Get ahead of coming regulatory changes

• Lock in long-term energy savings

• Reduce household carbon emissions

• Future-proof their hot water system for at least the next decade

Book your free home assessment or request a quote to get started with Emerald.