Kate is future-proofing her new home by going all-electric

*Disclaimer - The material in this video may include references of third parties. These do not constitute endorsement of any organisation, product or service identified in this material.

The challenge

Kate and her husband have been building their forever home in Narrabundah for over a year. When she heard about the ACT Government’s plan to abolish all new gas connections from 2023, she decided to act.

“After the Government’s announcement in August about the gas transition pathway, and gas being phased out; we decided to see if we could request not having ours connected from the get-go.

“My husband and I had been looking for a bigger house since we got married in 2020. We found the perfect place off the plan in Narrabundah.

“We signed our contract in November 2021, but the developers had already started doing work on the land before that.

“We have been working with our builders for some time now and have requested a bunch of different modifications to the home. Small changes like adding floorboards to the second level or installing a hinged door instead of a slider.

“I figured it was worth asking them about the gas connection now while they were already making the other modifications.

“It really made sense to do it now as it would save us a lot of money and hassle in the future.

The action

“After talking about our options, I contacted the builder to ask about the process and how we could opt to not have gas installed to our townhouse.

“He’s been very supportive of our decision. Apparently there have been a lot of people in the development asking the same questions as us.

“He did tell us it might be a bit tricky at first because the developers were concerned there wouldn’t be enough power in the complex for everybody to be all-electric.

“They have since found a solution that works for our home and means we can reconfigure the plans to be all-electric.

“Our kitchen will now have an induction cooktop, and for water heating we will have a hot water heat pump.

The benefit

“The builders are sourcing all the electric appliances for us, so we don’t have to. It means we can save a lot of time not having to source those quotes ourselves.

“The main benefit for me is not having to renovate our beautiful new home in 10-15 years’ time while gas is being phased out.

“As a Senior Marketing Manager, I know from experience that when you plan campaigns or work ahead of time, benefits follow.

“It is one less thing we’ll have to worry about or coordinate in the future.

“My husband will probably do a cost comparison for our bills once we’ve moved in and lived there for a bit. It will be interesting to see what energy savings we’ll make from this decision.