Although I'm sure double glazing pays for itself eventually and keeps some of the heat in, most heat goes firstly through the roof and then through the walls. For that reason I think loft insulation should be considered first and foremost, followed by cavity wall insulation (assuming you have cavities).

We llve in souther highlands and therefore during the winter eget the winds from the snowy mountains and therefore frost and under 1 degree at some times (but only for about 6 weeks) HOWEVER during that time from about 10.30 to 2.30 during the day you are in shorts or light trousewrs and tee shirts and we eat in the garden as it is so sunny and quite warm.
It just gets very cold from 2.30 and the houses are not built for it as we are used to.
We had ducted air con put in $7k for 4 bed house in 3 zones and we have used it for heating - it was excellent and did not need to be on all the time. It gets the temp up very quickly so in the morning you would only need half an hour before you get up. Our bills are not heavy at all as you only use what you need. Don't panic. I found the best way to keep warm as well was to wear a long skirt in the evenings while sitting still and this keeps you all warm - joggers for you men and ug boots.

If you live in Perth or Brisbane your much better off spending your money on airconditioning for summer rather then heating for winter, you could get through winter without heating but would probably be desperate for airconditioning on one of those 42c summer days or heat waves. Spend the big bucks on airconditioning and just buy one or two of those little $30 fan heaters for winter they heat up the room well.

In my opinion, get reverse cycle Air Con, so it can be used as a heater in the winter also.
I was about to give a cost comparison, for buying the units, but the lastest adverts only have the reverse cycle ones (Heat & Cool). I don't think the price difference is that great though.

There is no way you would have your heating on 24 hours a day, it would bankrupt you lol

Ducted heating is cheap to install but expensive to run as the gas runs consistantly whilst the hot air is blowing. Central heating is more to install but around 20% cheaper to run. Also for any one with chest complaints, allergies, ashma etc ducted is a nightmare due to dust. Yes before anyone jumps up and down, i know taht you can get the ducts cleaned, but lets face it whos ever prpared for hat first cold snap

Tony, our windows have 3 mill glass (yes! really!!) in them at the moment and are rotten. We figure while we are replacing them we may as well do it properly.

We are insulating like mad and we have to do ceilings and floors as they (in OUR house) are both wood and let heat in and out at an alarming rate. We are using something called iso board and the difference is incredable.

I cannot believe people comming from the Uk to Brisbane would even consider central heating it's just not required. After being here for 5 years my one and only heater is still in it's packing case.

Maybe if you require a/c in the uk you will want both out here but it's overkill.
You hear people quote low temp of 4-6 C but that is in the middle of the night for (maybe a few weeks) when you should be tucked up in bed with a nice Doona.

When we lived in Sydney we ran our R/C air con 24 hours a day, as I used to work from home, and the bills weren't too bad. I can't recall exactly, but I think I mentioned the figures on here a year or so ago. I doubt if it was more than $400 per quarter for the total electric bill though.

But your comparing a/c on electric to heating on gas

Yep, and i'd advise people to go with R/C Air con heating using Electric, rather than gas, as it must be cheaper. We had the heating part on 24 hours a day during the winter in Sydney.

So much depends on location. In many parts of SE Asia and northern Australia only a thin radiation barrier is required over ceilings because doors and windows are opened to allow maximum ventilation as the outside air temperature is tolerable to those used to it.

Thanks all! Shall keep that in mind. Anyway, we don't plan to buy a house, we're going to be renting. Hopefully rented houses come fitted with the R/C air cons.

IG