The appliance upgrades making home life cheaper
If there’s anything we’ve learnt in the pilot so far, it’s that no two homes are the same. The diversity of households participating in the pilot ranges from apartments to renters, families to retirees, and old homes to brand new ones. But they have one thing in common, and that’s reduced emissions and bills since going electric. Meet some householders taking part in the Electrify 2515 Community Pilot and learn about what they’ve done.
Billy, Tosca and Chip
Household: Bought a family home and wanted to make upgrades so the subsidies helped make this achievable. Getting gas out of the house was important for their child’s health as well as reducing household bills.
What they did: Installed solar and a battery, induction cooktop, heat pump hot water and ducted air conditioning.
Billy said: “We are now saving roughly $300 a month on energy bills.”
Nigel and Kristy
Household: Older style cottage, with a ceramics studio on the block.
What they did: Swapped out old gas cooker for electric cooker, replaced gas heating with reverse cycle AC, and put on rooftop solar.
Gillian, BJ & Altai
Household: Older brick house that was almost all electric.
What they did: Installed heat pump hot water to reduce water heating cost. It replaced instant gas and was the last gas appliance to replace in their house.
Josh and family
Household: Lives in a rental house with his wife and young child.
What they did: The landlord agreed to upgrading the hot water system from instant gas to a heat pump, and replacing the gas cooktop with induction.
Josh said: “Our bills have gone down. We now have a healthier kitchen without gas burning. The health of our daughter is paramount to us. We’ve also got a couple of pet birds, and they’re really sensitive to noxious gases, so we can now bring them inside more often.”
Catherine and Reg
Household: Apartment owners with solar.
What they did: Replaced a gas cooktop with induction to make it safer for them as they get older.
Catherine said: “I’m concerned about climate change, and I feel that politicians aren’t doing enough. I also believe that local communities can make a real difference. I also feel reassured now that we won’t leave the gas on accidentally.”
