Large buildings use a lot of hot water: hotels, gyms, aged care, apartment blocks, food processors. Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) treats these separately from houses. Activity 44 is the Essential Services Commission’s (ESC) non-residential activity for installing an air source heat pump water heater in commercial, multi-residential or industrial premises.
Where it sits among the hot water activities
Houses and small businesses replacing electric resistance or gas hot water use activities 1 and 3 (electric boosted solar or heat pump replacing resistance or gas/LPG). Activity 44 is listed as non-residential only. If the project is a plant-room replacement for an apartment complex, a commercial kitchen or a laundry, this is the activity to check first. The existing page on heat pump VEECs in Victoria covers the residential path.
How the discount is built
The ESC sets a deeming method for each activity. For a commercial system, the certificate count depends on the product and the energy it is expected to save over the deeming period. That is why we do not quote a single “VEU discount” for activity 44. The customer discount is the value of those certificates, applied as a reduction in the invoice, after the provider’s costs and margin.
What moves the number:
- System capacity and the expected savings against what it replaces.
- The VEEC price at the time of sale (about $85 to $95 at the time of writing).
- The provider’s pricing and any minimum co-payment rules in the activity guide.
For the certificate counts in the residential equivalent, see how many VEECs a heat pump creates.
What this means for installers
Commercial hot water jobs involve more people than a house: a building owner, a body corporate, sometimes a tenant. Get these right before you install:
- Confirm the exact product is on the VEU register of products for activity 44.
- Be clear who signs the VEEC assignment form and that they have authority.
- Keep commissioning records and photos that match the activity guide.
- Decide early whether the job might also be eligible under the small-scale scheme. The rules on stacking VEECs and STCs on one job are specific, and an incorrect double claim becomes an audit problem.
Selling the certificates
Commercial jobs produce a larger parcel of VEECs per claim than a house, which makes timing and settlement more meaningful. Read how VEECs work from upgrade to payment and the VEEC trading pillar. Energy Merchants publishes its buy rate on /pricing/, and a named account manager can talk you through a commercial parcel when you start trading.
Confirm the current activity guide and eligible products with the ESC, because specifications for VEU activities are updated several times a year.