An all-electric home is the home of the future. One where you have control over how much power you use and where that power comes from.
Going all-electric is more than just lowering your bill; it’s an opportunity to improve your lifestyle, increase your comfort and convenience and gain independence from rising energy costs.
If you want to take back control of your home and turn it into an all-electric dream, here are the five things we recommend you put in place to make it happen.
1. An Induction Cooktop
When people build a new home or slowly update an existing one, the cooktop is almost always the last thing left on gas. A lot of people are loyal to gas for cooking, and we get it. But once you’ve cooked on induction, you won’t want to go back.
Why Our Customers Love Induction
Induction is fast, precise and easy to clean. A few standout benefits:
- Boil a pot of water in around 2 minutes
- Instant, accurate heat control that gas can’t match
- A flat glass surface that wipes clean in seconds
- Safer for kids and pets, with no open flame
The Hidden Win: Disconnecting Gas
The cooktop is often the piece holding you back from disconnecting the gas meter entirely. Once it’s gone, so is your daily gas supply charge.
That’s hundreds of dollars back in your pocket every year.
2. A Heat Pump Hot Water System
A heat pump hot water system is the most efficient way to heat your water and power it yourself. The key thing about a heat pump is that it does more with less.
The Old Options and Why They Fall Short
Traditionally, you had three ways to heat water at home:
- Gas: Reasonably efficient, but we can’t produce our own gas, and there’s no renewable option coming
- Solar hot water: Not very reliable through a Sunbury or Macedon Ranges winter
- Electric: Works on a 1-to-1 ratio; every kilowatt of power in gives you only 1 kilowatt of heating
How a Heat Pump Does It Better
A heat pump hot water system uses around 75% less electricity to do the same job. It uses refrigerant gas sealed inside the unit rather than drawing gas from the street.
- Around 4 kilowatts of heating for every 1 kilowatt of power in
- Roughly 75% less electricity than an electric system
- The same proven technology that powers your split system aircon
- Pairs beautifully with solar, so you can run it for almost nothing
3. A Solar and Battery System Sized for the Whole Home
What if you could power your home yourself? Installing solar and a battery lets you take back control and make your own power.
Why Solar Is the Engine of It All
Everything else on this list runs on electricity. Your solar system is what lets you make that electricity yourself, using sunlight to either run your appliances in real time or store the energy for later.
Sizing for an All-Electric Future
When we size a system for an all-electric home, we look at the whole picture, not just today’s usage. We factor in:
- Heat pump hot water
- Induction cooking
- Year-round heating and cooling
- A home battery to store the extra power
- An EV charger for the car
- Expanding your system in the future to suit your needs later
A system sized for an older home with gas appliances won’t be enough once you electrify the rest of the house, so it’s worth getting the sizing right from the start.
Where a Battery Fits In
A battery helps you successfully create a wholly all-electric home. It gives you the flexibility to use the renewable power your solar system generates at any time of day, not just when the sun is up.
Why a Battery Earns Its Keep
Most households use the bulk of their power between 3 pm and 9 pm, and that’s exactly when your battery shines.
A battery gives you:
- Stored solar power for evenings, mornings and bad-weather days
- Backup power options if the grid goes down
- The ability to charge from the grid during free power periods
- Less reliance on grid prices that keep climbing
It’s the piece that turns solar from a daytime savings into a full-time one.
4. Efficient Heating and Cooling
We used to be able to wipe out a power bill with solar alone. Those days are gone. To get the best outcome, you now need a whole-home ecosystem, and a big part of that ecosystem is efficient heating and cooling.
The $1 a Day Bill
The bill we love seeing for our customers is what we call a takeaway bill, or the $1 a day bill (the $1 is your supply charge). A power bill that costs less than a night out with takeaway. To get there, your heating and cooling needs to pull its weight.
What Efficient Heating and Cooling Looks Like
When we recommend a system for an all-electric home, we’re looking for:
- Modern reverse cycle, not a 20-year-old ducted gas unit
- Sized properly for your home, not just guessed at
- Inverter technology that ramps up and down smoothly
- Zone control so you only heat or cool the rooms in use
- Powered by electricity, so your solar and battery can run it
5: An EV Charger
The final piece to the puzzle, and one that’s getting increasingly popular, is an EV charger. What if you could use the power you produce from your roof to drive your car?
Three Ways to Charge, All Cheaper Than Petrol
A home EV charger lets you choose where your driving energy comes from:
- From your solar during the day
- From your battery in the evening
- From the grid overnight at low off-peak rates
- From public chargers
As EV owners ourselves, we’ll tell you straight: nothing is more rewarding than hearing people complain about petrol prices when you have no idea what the current price even is. You plug in when you walk in the door, and the charger takes care of the rest.
Why These Five Things Work So Well Together
Each piece is useful on its own. Put them together, and they become something more.
- Induction and heat pump hot water let you disconnect the gas
- Solar gives you the power to run them
- A battery gives you that power around the clock
- Efficient heating and cooling make sure you’re not wasting it
- An EV charger turns your roof into your fuel station
The result is a home you control. lower bills, less reliance on the grid, less exposure to fuel and gas price hikes and a lot more comfort along the way.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Many of our customers get there step by step over a few years, in the order that suits their home and their budget.
The Bottom Line
An all-electric home is about control, comfort and keeping more of your money in the bank. Get these five things in place in the right order, and you’ll have a home that runs on your own power, year-round, with a bill that finally makes sense.
You don’t have to do it all at once. The trick is having a plan so each step builds on the last.
Ready to take your next step towards an all-electric home? Book a free consult with our team today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I Have to Switch Everything at Once?
No. Most of our customers go all-electric in stages. The order usually depends on what’s already failing in your home, what rebates are available and what your budget looks like. We’ll happily map out a path that suits your place & budget.
Will My Existing Solar System Be Big Enough?
A quick load assessment will tell you whether you need to expand or whether the current system can carry it.
Is It Worth Keeping Gas for Just One Thing?
That’s up to you. If your gas fireplace is a non-negotiable for you then go for it. However, if you don’t love the gas appliances you have, it’s time for an upgrade.
Once you’re down to a single gas appliance, you’re still paying the daily supply charge every day of the year.
What Order Should I Tackle These In?
This depends on a few factors. The first is your priorities, the second is what is happening with rebates.
For example, if outages are your top priority then a battery is probably high on your list. If you have solar, and want to save more money but are not ready for a battery, a heat pump is the best next step. We’re working on a tool to help you navigate this decision making process, so watch this space!
If you’ve got questions about how to take steps toward an all-electric home, a consult with the Bluegum team can help create a clear direction for you. We’re here to help and give you a safe path forward to the best home you’ve ever dreamed of. Book a free consult