How to electrify your home

Electrifying your home will save you money in the long-term as the running costs are significantly lower. However it can be expensive to install (this is why we’re lobbying the government to subsidise and support all households to electrify). The good news you don’t have to do it all straight away.

The easiest approach is to

• plan what you’re going to replace your each item (hot water, cooktop, heater, car) with the next time it breaks or you’re ready to replace it, starting with the oldest item first.

• include the additional items like rooftop solar and home battery where you can.

A plan may look like this:

• Now: Replace gas hot water system with an electric heat pump.

• Next year: Install rooftop solar and home battery taking advantage of the joint Illawarra Shoalhaven Council’s Community Renewables Program and the Federal Government Cheaper Home Batteries Program.
  (Note: the Federal Govt solar and battery rebates will automatically be applied).

• Following Year: Replace your second car with an electric bike, 2nd-hand EV or subscribe to an electric car sharing service (eg. Evee).

• Within 3 years: Replace your gas heater with a reverse cycle air conditioner and your gas cooktop with an induction cooktop.

• Within 5 years: Replace your primary vehicle with an EV with vehicle-to-grid(V2G) capability.

  Planning to finance it
  Of course if you have the savings, you can go ahead and purchase most items today.
  
  Other options to consider include:

• Understand what government rebates and support are available.

• Talk to your existing lender to add it to your mortgage or explore what green finance products they offer.

• Research other green loan options. Many banks and other financial institutions offer green loans to help with this transition eg. CommBank Green Loan.

Note: Everyone’s situation is different and we are not financial advisers or providers so can’t give advice. Check with your Accountant or Financial Adviser as to what is best for you.

Please write down your plan.

Check out our rebates page to know what you are entitled to. For many of the installations (eg. solar, heat pumps) the installer will organise the rebate for you. Not all installers are accredited to claim the rebates so make sure you check beforehand.

Australia is lucky to have the world’s cheapest form of energy in our rooftop solar and the average solar system will pay itself back in 3-5 years making it a great investment. Be sure to plan ahead, installing sufficient solar for future EV charging. 10kWh is the most commonly installed size.
Check out the special solar-battery offer from your Council’s Community Renewables Program.

If solar panels aren’t suitable for your property or circumstance, you could

• buy 100% Green Power from an energy retailer (we like Diamond Energy, Energy Locals and Amber Energy for their emphasis on renewable energy and community support)

• sign up to a virtual energy network (VEN) eg. Energy Locals, where you can get cheaper energy by leveraging the excess energy from a neighbour, friend or wider community.

• sign up to a Community Battery if one is available in your area.

The three key home appliances to consider are:

a) Your hot water system

Replace your gas hot water system with an electric heat pump to reduce your energy usage by two-thirds. If you have solar power and already have an electric resistant hot water heater, no need to replace it until it is near its end of life but consider adding timers so it heats during the day.

View our hot water guide here

b) Your heating and cooling

Reverse cycle air conditioners (also called split systems or heat pumps) use one-quarter to one-third the energy of other space heaters (and they can be used in summer for cooling) so swap out your gas or conventional electric heaters.

This may also improve your health, particularly of your gas heater was unflued.

c) Your cooktop

Time to get off gas and install an induction cooktop which uses one third the energy, is easy to clean and does not come with the indoor pollutants.

We encourage you to consider the quality, efficiency and warranty of an appliance when making your selection.

There are many features that will help minimise the energy use such as timers and wifi (to line up when they’re used with solar production or off-peak tariffs).

Any good electrician and plumber can also advise you on which products may work for your circumstance so once you have researched what’s available we suggest you connect with a local installer and they can purchase and install for you.

Other resources include Choice (eg. Air Con Guide), My Energy Efficient Home Facebook Group and Renew

Contact a licensed electrician to receive a quote and to evaluate your current electrical panel and wiring. They will determine if any upgrades or modifications are necessary to accommodate the additional electrical demands eg. installing extra circuits. Once you’re happy with your advice and the products, start your installations!

Firstly contact your energy retailer and get off whatever gas plan you may be on. Currently you will also be paying a gas connection fee (up to $1/day).
There are 2 options:

1. Request a disconnection: cancel the connection and supply costs and optionally cap the meter. Disconnection Fee about $150

2. Request abolishment: gas meter and pipes removed.
   Abolishment fee about $1, 400 (will be reduced to $250 from 1-Jul-2026 in NSW)

Note: The minimum requirement to stop your ongoing gas bills is disconnection.
Your gas retailer might try to talk you into abolishment. While this is preferred, it is currently expensive and not essential. Due to the cost, most people are choosing disconnection, rather than abolishment.

The best way to maximise your electrification is to time your usage to when you are producing solar energy (ie the middle of the day). This can be done via

a) Behaviour eg. using the inbuilt timer on your dishwasher and washing machine,
or putting the dishwasher on when you leave for work.

b) Adding Timers (especially for your hot water system)

c) Monitoring technology. There are a range of systems available to monitor and optimise your energy usage, allowing you to maximise efficiency and reduce costs. They can provide insights into energy consumption patterns, offer remote control options, and enable the coordination of energy-intensive appliances with solar power generation.

Your single biggest source of carbon emissions and energy costs for every household is your petrol or diesel car. An average household spends over $3000 every year on fuel costs. The cost of driving an EV is 1-2 c/km from your rooftop solar and about 4-6c/km from grid electricity. This compares to 20c/km for driving a typical petrol or diesel vehicle at $2 per litre. Not to mention the thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions internal combustion engine vehicles emit.

There are a lot of good new and second hand EVs on the market.
For e-cargo bikes, check out RidingforLife , Dutch Cargo for a subscription service, Lug and Carrie. For e-mopeds, Fonz is a popular brand.

Installing a battery storage system allows you to store excess solar energy generated during the day and use it during peak electricity demand or when solar production is low. This can maximize the benefits of your solar power and use less energy from the grid.

The Council’s Community Renewables Program, Federal Government Cheaper Home Batteries Program coupled with the NSW State Government Virtual Power Plant (VPP) incentive have made home batteries more viable for many homeowners.

We expect batteries to continue to fall in price considerably over the next few years, and it won’t be long until we all are able to benefit from electric vehicles being able to act as household batteries via Vehicle-to-Grid!

Solar Quotes is a good, trusted source of information on solar and batteries.

You will be enjoying the savings of $3000 - 5000 every year in running your home and helping with the biggest challenge of our time!