Charging Down the Electrification Path

My journey down the home electrification pathway started several years ago when we installed a ducted air conditioning system for the house. We planned to use it mainly for keeping ourselves cool in summer, although soon found it was much more effective at warming the house compared to the flued gas heater we’d been using up until then.

Not much thought was given to the energy efficiency or health aspects at the time.

Then came the solar system. I’d enquired about solar around 2012 but was told it wasn’t worth it because there were too many tall trees around our house.

A few years later we unfortunately lost a couple of nice eucalypts in the yard due to termite infestations. The upside was solar technology had improved and I had a shiny new 4kW Enphase microinverter system installed in 2015. That system is still running well today, with only one microinverter needing replacing recently.

Next up was the electric car. I got hooked on EVs after driving a very early Tesla Model S P85+ in California about a decade ago. I watched closely and waited patiently until Tesla brought out the smaller and more affordable Model 3.

It seems like ages ago when I lined up outside the Tesla store in the dark on March 31st 2016 to place my deposit, sight unseen.

Late September 2019 I finally picked up my car and four years into my ownership I still think it’s fantastic and love driving it. No matter what some people say, the instant acceleration never gets tiring for me!

Two things I like least about it are the low ground clearance, and voice command recognition. But these are minor blemishes on an otherwise great infotainment system, and apart from that, the Model 3 has been a great car for our family of four.

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Fast forward to this year and I've been reading more about the need to act urgently on climate change as well as the terrible health impacts of gas in our homes.

The final impetus was reading Saul Griffith’s book titled The Big Switch: Australia’s Electric Future. I finished the book and immediately made plans to ditch the last two gas appliances as soon as possible - a gas cooktop and an instant gas hot water heater.

The hot water system turned out to be quite easy to replace. I found a reputable Sydney based company online and booked an appointment within a week to install a heat pump hot water system.

I opted for one of the more expensive units, a 315L Reclaim with stainless steel tank. I'd read great reviews on the Reclaim - it seemed to be one of the quietest and most reliable units.

I’d been warned by family members and my electrician that heat pump hot water systems are noisy and unreliable, but their experiences must be based on older technology that has been surpassed. In contrast you can stand 2-3m away from my unit and barely hear it.

And I chose a stainless steel tank so I didn't need to worry about replacing sacrificial anodes every 12 months. A sacrificial anode is a metal component that protects the metal components of a hot water tank or heat pump from corrosion. They are designed to corrode - to be sacrificed - instead of the metal components they are protecting, and help extend the lifespan of the equipment.

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The Reclaim uses CO2 as a refrigerant and is very efficient, which my energy monitoring confirms. It draws roughly 1kW and usually runs for around 2.5-3 hours from 10am each day, consuming a total of 2.5-3kWh of energy. Not bad for a day's hot water, and I presume it will use even less energy during the warmer months.

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The gas cooktop turned out to be challenging because the induction cooktop required a new 32A circuit and was located next to an internal brick wall. Thanks to my trusty electrician who came up with a nice workaround, the worst of the damage was a narrow 1m channel that required patching and painting afterwards. This was much better than potentially damaging the tiles and benchtop on the kitchen side of the wall.

Our new induction cooktop is a dream to use, very quick and responsive (like an EV!) and a delight to clean. I haven’t quite got used to stir-frying with it yet. Most of our existing cookware works fine as well, apart from needing a new flat bottom wok.

A quick and easy way to check if your cookware works with induction is to try a magnet on the bottom. If it sticks well to the pot or pan, then it’ll work fine with an induction cooktop.

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Soon after the new hot water system and cooktop were installed, I rang my gas supplier to request an abolishment of the gas meter. I wanted to disconnect from the gas network entirely because I didn’t want gas potentially leaking into the house from old connection points.

Our gas pipeline also runs very shallow through the front garden so I wanted to avoid the risk of puncturing it with a garden fork. Unfortunately AGL slugged me with a $1237 final bill. I was very glad it was my last gas bill!

Last but not least, there were the outdoor appliances. Research shows that petrol powered garden tools emit more pollution than passenger cars, and the state of California has banned them from 2024.

I’d already given up the battle with an old mower two years ago and swapped out all my lawn equipment for battery powered versions. They bring me joy whenever I simply click the battery in place and press a button to start trimming, mowing or blowing.

When I’ve asked about electric BBQs at several retail outlets, the staff members give me puzzled looks before they recollect the single electric BBQ they sell. After wandering over to have a look at the small unit, it’s clearly not going to replace the old 4-burner gas BBQ anytime soon. So, it seems I will be driving my EV to the local petrol station to refill the BBQ gas bottle for a little while longer.

Still on my wish list are a home battery and upgrade for the solar system. 4kW was decent in 2015 but is less than half the average size of new systems being installed today. Whenever people ask, my advice is to install as much solar as possible, whatever your roof fits or you can afford. Perhaps when more lithium iron phosphate (LFP) based batteries, with longer warranties arrive, they’ll become economic no-brainers like solar too.

In terms of costs, it’s certainly not cheap to electrify everything in your home all at once. However, you can smooth out the impact by replacing things over a number of years as I did.

The single biggest item by far was the new EV. With more affordable new EVs and an emerging second hand market this hurdle is getting smaller.

For the final stretch I spent just over $9000 to get rid of gas entirely. It cost $5500 to supply and install the heat pump hot water system, $2500 to purchase and install the induction cooktop, including the additional wiring. Then there was the aforementioned $1237 final gas bill.

If you’re not sure where to start with electrification, follow Saul Griffith’s advice to replace fossil fuelled machines that die with efficient electric versions. If you can replace them sooner than that, even better.

There’s also a growing number of resources out there dedicated to helping people electrify their homes including: SwitchedOn Australia podcast, My Efficient Electric Home Facebook group, The Big Switch: Australia’s Electric Future by Saul Griffith, and Make the Switch website.

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Tim has 20 years experience in the IT industry including 14 years as a network engineer and site reliability engineer at Google Australia. He is an EV and renewable energy enthusiast who is most passionate about helping people understand and adopt these technologies.