Noirit and Steve planned the electrification of their town house carefully
Noirit and Steve live with their young daughter in a two storey North Fitzroy townhouse. Noirit is a financial planner and Steve is an IT professional as well as a volunteer with Electrify Yarra.
As a couple, they are both highly motivated to make their home sustainable and energy efficient, and they recently sat down to share their journey with Electrify Yarra.
As we spoke, their focus on getting expert advice, connecting with their community for advice, and developing a clear set of priorities stood out. Even so, there were lessons learned and some surprises along the way.
Noirit began their story
We purchased the house in late 2021, taking possession in January 2022. It was SO HOT! It was almost unbearable. I had been a member of the My Efficient Electric Home Facebook group, and that was amazing for information.
We had some ideas on what we needed to do - maybe start with double glazing? I connected with an architect through the Facebook group and we had her come and she was great. She understood we had just stretched to get our first home and had a really tight budget. She was from Value Architects Group and focused on ‘bang for buck’ and instead of starting with double glazing, our first big job was ceiling insulation.
Steve continued…
The architect drew up a plan for us and explained how we should start with draught-proofing. Next, we could set up a new ceiling below the existing one (which is high), to install really good insulation - our downlights in the old ceiling had no insulation around them. She also explained how simple shading - a big awning on the balcony and blinds - were far more urgent (and effective!) than double glazing. That saved us from having to make one of the really big investments upfront and we could get to the double glazing later.
I got to work on draught proofing straight away and that helped a lot
Noirit:
For the ceiling work, we found a plasterer through the Clifton Hill Good Karma Network- he did the ceiling work and installed the insulation at the same time. Straight away, we noticed how really quiet the house became.
The architect also recommended some ceiling fans - they help keep the house cool on warm days without needing the air conditioning.
We had always wanted to install solar panels, so while the ceiling was exposed, we went ahead and installed a solar system.
Steve:
Because our townhouse has no external walls, getting wiring from one place to another is a challenge so it was great to install the solar while the ceiling was down. We went with micro-inverters, that saved us having to find a place for an inverter, just a small gateway near the switchboard. Surprisingly, out of all the big things we did, the solar system was relatively low cost.
Next up was to bite the bullet and replace the windows and doors onto the balcony with double glazing. This was the most expensive thing we did and it took 9 months to get them after we ordered.
Noirit:
Next up was replacing the cooktop in 2024, and we were able to keep the same cutout in the bench by placing a timber cutting board right next to the new induction cooktop.
At the same time we replaced the instantaneous gas hot water with a heat pump hot water system. This was challenging because the gas unit was on the upper wall in our small courtyard, but there was enough room to fit the tank and condenser unit.
Again, wiring was a challenge, but we wired up the hot water and the cooktop at the same time - we had to run cables across the roof, down into the courtyard and into the kitchen.
The hot water and cooktop replaced the last gas appliances, and we finally had a fully electric home! We straight away requested removal of the gas meter - that was a wonderful day. Surprisingly, a whole team of workers arrived to get that done, it was a big deal, they dug up the road to cut the gas off completely.
Steve:
We had been managing our transport ok with a cargo bike but late last year we were lucky to be able to get an EV to use for longer trips away. We live near Piedimontes, so we can use the fast chargers there while we decide if it’s worth investing in a home charger. But generally we make do with a ‘trickle charge’ while we’re at home during the day.
What were the biggest lessons you learned from electrification?
Noirit:
We could have easily made a big mistake jumping into double glazing first. That was the most expensive thing and nice to have, but not the biggest impact on saving energy.
The big lesson was to do a proper plan, with advice from experts. That helped us manage the changes within our budget, and do the most effective things soon after we moved in. We also ‘crowdsourced’ trusted information online - the community groups helped us choose good installers and products.
Steve:
Planning ahead also helped save us money and work because as we did each project, we could prepare for things that would be needed later - like adding wiring for the cooktop when we installed the hot water.
What’s on your wishlist?
Steve:
Almost nothing! We might invest in an EV charger, but we’ll wait and see how much we need it.
Our other wish is to share our experience. It’s not simple to electrify an existing house, even if it’s been built recently. A townhouse brings added challenges with no access to external side walls.
We are opening our home on Sustainable House Day on May 4. It will be a great way for people to see what we have done and we can meet others who are looking to electrify and share our experiences.
