Retired schoolteachers Pete and Heather were keen to go full electric at home, but their unit wasn’t the most obvious candidate.
They live in a ground floor double-brick apartment – part of a 20-building complex – directly across from the beach in Melbourne’s south.
Great views of the bay, but also plenty to navigate around the non-ideal south-facing aspect, salt air and owners corporation consultations.
But with the help of the BOOM! Power Electrify Your Home tool, which Bank Australia customers can access through their banking app, they got off gas and brought their energy bills down to around $30 a month.
Why they wanted to ditch gas and go all-electric
Pete and Heather’s motivation came down to four things:
- Cost: One energy source meant one bill. “We don’t have to have two connections,” Pete says, noting that long-term savings can offset the upfront cost for upgrades.
- Control: With solar panels already on the roof, they could time their energy usage to the solar generation. “Being retired means we can use appliances as we feel like during the day,” Pete says.
- Health: They were conscious of the health impacts of burning gas in their home. “Getting off gas meant cleaner air,” Heather says.
- Environment: “We want to leave the world a bit better than it was for our kids,” Pete says.
Finding electric appliance installers they could trust
Pete and Heather had already made great headway in their electrification journey, with:
- Solar panels (installed six years ago, after being approved through their owners corporation)
- A reverse-cycle air conditioner for efficient heating and cooling
- Double-glazed windows for extra insulation
- An electric vehicle
- A Powerpal energy monitor tracking their usage in real time
Only two things stood in the way of them cutting gas entirely: their stove and hot water system both still ran on it.
They wanted to replace them with an induction cooktop and a heat pump for hot water, but finding the right tradespeople was a struggle. “There are a lot of cowboys out there who are just after your money,” Pete says.
That’s when they discovered the BOOM! Power Electrify Your Home tool through Bank Australia. “Bank Australia is an ethical, trustworthy bank,” Pete says.
“Their partnership with BOOM! meant we could access reliable installers who did a really great job.”
What is BOOM! Power’s Electrify Your Home tool?
- BOOM! Power’s free Electrify Your Home tool is available to Bank Australia customers through the Bank Australia app.
- In 5-10 minutes, you can create a bespoke electrification plan for your home.
- You’ll then be connected to BOOM!’s network of trusted, vetted installers.
The electric-home upgrades – and the results
Heather and Pete found that installation of their induction stove was smooth, although not straightforward.
Their stone benchtop had to be cut to fit the new stove, but Heather says the installers were professional and efficient.
“They used a lot of safety procedures and I felt very confident it was being done properly,” she says. “They’ve done a really good job.”
After swapping out a few pots and pans, Heather is now an induction stove convert.
“I wasn‘t sure how it was going to function,” she says, “but I love cooking with it. And it’s easy to clean!”
The heat pump hot water system runs between 10am and 3pm – peak solar times – which means, as Pete puts it, “we basically get free hot water.”
BOOM!’s installers also sourced a rust-proof unit, which was essential for their beach-side location.
How their fully electric home works (and a bonus)
Now, solar panels power the heat pump, stove, reverse cycle air conditioner and other appliances during the day.
Two utility connections are now one, and that bill amounts to little more than the daily supply charge – around $30 a month. Pete and Heather are eyeing battery storage as their next step.
And as an added bonus, going fully electric made Pete and Heather eligible to apply for a Bank Australia Clean Energy Home Loan, which offers a reduced rate for green homes that meet certain criteria including not being connected to gas.
"That gives us a reduced rate of interest and makes our mortgage cheaper," says Pete. "Which is an absolute benefit."
If you’re thinking about electrifying your home, Pete’s advice is simple: “Just go for it,” he says. “It’s been a real win-win, and it really worked well having BOOM! Power on our side – supported by Bank Australia.”
Bank Australia customers can access BOOM! Power’s Electrify Your Home tool for free.
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