{"id":93241,"date":"2025-07-16T05:52:07","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T20:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=93241"},"modified":"2025-11-12T10:05:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T00:35:01","slug":"nsw-doorknocking-energy-efficiency-mb3226","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/nsw-doorknocking-energy-efficiency-mb3226\/","title":{"rendered":"NSW Tightens Up Energy Efficiency Incentive Schemes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"A<\/p>\n

Doorknocking will be banned for New South Wales’ Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) and Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) from the beginning of August, and a new warranty requirement for heat pump hot water systems supported under the ESS will kick in.<\/p>\n

What Is The Peak Demand Reduction Scheme?<\/h2>\n

As the name suggests, The PDRS aims to reduce peak electricity demand in NSW; particularly on summer afternoons and evenings.<\/p>\n

Tradeable Peak Reduction Certificates (PRCs) are created for eligible activities, such as installing energy-efficient pool pumps, air conditioners or a home battery participating<\/a> in a Virtual Power Plant (VPP)<\/a> program. The value of these certificates minus admin fees is provided as a rebate, payment or discount.<\/p>\n

The PDRS was also the vehicle for NSW’s battery rebate for a bit, but the state rebate was ditched<\/a> after a series of regulatory headaches in getting it to play nice with the recently introduced federal battery rebate.<\/p>\n

More information on the PDRS can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What Is The Energy Savings Scheme?<\/h2>\n

This scheme provides NSW homes and businesses with financial incentives to invest in projects reducing energy consumption; such as installing new energy-efficient equipment or making improvements to current systems.<\/p>\n

For households, among eligible appliances are solar or heat pump hot water systems. Discounts can range between $400 and $670 when replacing an electric water heater with a heat pump or $190 and $310 when replacing a gas water heater.<\/p>\n

The ESS works under a certificate trading scheme where accredited businesses create and sell Energy Savings Certificates (ESCs) based on the energy savings achieved. And as with PRCs, the value of these certificates fluctuates based on market conditions.<\/p>\n

Further information on the ESS can be viewed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Heat Pump Hot Water System Warranty Minimum<\/h2>\n

As well as the doorknocking ban coming into effect in August for both the ESS and PDRS, the NSW government is introducing a 5-year minimum product warranty requirement for heat pump hot water systems installed under the Energy Savings Scheme.<\/p>\n

If you look at our heat pump comparison table<\/a>, you’ll notice a few manufacturers have different warranty lengths depending on the system component, such as:<\/p>\n