The complete guide to making your home all-electric - without making your life unnecessarily complicated

Getting off gas can sound like a very big, and, expensive project.  New heating * New hot water * New cooktop * Possibly an electrical upgrade * Solar gets mentioned * Someone brings up three-phase power and then you are into batteries. Before long, you've opened 17 browser tabs and decided this is a problem for Future You and relegated it to the ‘too hard’ basket. 

But it really doesn't need to be that complicated.  For most households, getting off gas means replacing three things:

Gas heating → efficient reverse-cycle air conditioning (RCAC) - heating and cooling

Gas hot water → hot water heat pump (HWHP)

Gas cooking → induction

That's basically it.  You do not have to do all three at once, you do not need solar first, you do not need a battery.  And you definitely do not need to understand everything on this page before you start. What you do need is a plan.  Because once you know where you're heading, every appliance replacement, mini-renovation and home improvement can take you one step closer.

The 7-Step Getting Off Gas Plan

Step 1:

Find out what is actually using gas

This sounds basic, but we are still surprised as to how many people don’t know what uses gas in their home. So, walk around your home, you are looking for:

• • • gas ducted heating
    • gas wall heaters
    • gas fireplaces
    • gas hot water
    • gas cooktop
    • gas oven
    • any other gas appliances.

Then find your gas bill.  How much gas are you using? And how much are you paying every day simply to have gas connected?

GO DEEPER → What Is a Standing Charge?

GO DEEPER → Energy Bill Rescue (coming soon)

Step 2:

Make your house easier to heat and cool

Whilst this is super basic, we get calls from householders who have gone down the ‘getting off gas’ rabbit hole and been stunned (and wildly disappointed) to discover that despite all the money they have spent and the effort they have expended, they are still cold in winter or too hot in summer. Electrification does NOT improve your thermal comfort. Before buying bigger and more powerful heating and cooling equipment, deal with the house itself and make it thermally energy efficient. 

Start with:

• • • draught proofing
    • ceiling insulation
    • underfloor insulation where appropriate
    • wall insulation where practical
    • better window coverings
    • window insulation
    • summer shading

The less heat your home loses in winter, and gains in summer, the less heating and cooling you need to buy in the first place.

GO DEEPER → My Home Is Too Cold

GO DEEPER → My Home Is Too Hot

GO DEEPER → Draught Proofing Information Hub

GO DEEPER → How to Save Energy: DIY Projects

Step 3:

Replace gas heating with reverse-cycle heating

A good reverse-cycle air conditioner (RCAC) is a highly efficient electric heater as well as an air conditioner.  In fact, if you already have reverse-cycle air conditioning, you may already own part of your solution.

Before buying anything, find out:

• • • whether your existing air conditioner is reverse-cycle
    • what rooms it serves
    • how efficiently it heats
    • whether you really need whole-house heating.

Australian Government guidance identifies reverse-cycle air conditioning as a highly efficient form of electric heating, with units on the Australian market typically delivering several units (up to 500% efficiency) of heating or cooling for each unit of electricity they use.

Step 4:

Make a hot water plan BEFORE your system dies

This one deserves capitals.  Hot water systems have an unfortunate habit of failing when people are cold, busy and about to go to work. 

That is when the purchasing question becomes:

“What can you put in today?”

Not:

“What is the best hot water system for this home for the next 15 years?”

If your gas hot water system is getting older, do the research now.  You don't necessarily need to replace it now.  Just know what will replace it.

For most households getting off gas, a good heat pump hot water system should be high on the shortlist.

GO DEEPER → Earthworker: Heat Pump Hot Water

GO DEEPER → Earthworker: Choosing the Right Hot Water System & Size

Step 5:

Move from gas cooking to induction

This is often the appliance people are most reluctant to change.  And we get it, fair enough.  Gas is / was seen as the most sophisticated cooking method, used by all the top chefs.  So don't start by ripping out the cooktop. Start with a portable induction unit, plug it in and start learning how to cook with induction.  See what you think.

ecoMaster has recommended this gradual approach for years because it lets you experience induction without committing to a kitchen renovation first.  If the magnet from the fridge sticks firmly to the bottom of your saucepan, there is a good chance the pan is already induction compatible. There is no need for a dramatic kitchen renovation for induction to become welcome a welcomed feature in your home.  

Induction is only part of the electric cooking toolkit. Air fryers and microwaves can handle a surprising amount of everyday cooking without firing up a large oven—or using gas at all. They are quick, convenient and use less energy for smaller meals because they heat a much smaller space. You do not need to recreate the old gas kitchen appliance by appliance. Think about how you actually cook, then choose the mix of induction, microwave, air fryer and electric oven that works for your household. 

GO DEEPER → What Is a Standing Charge?

Step 6:

Check the electrical side

You are replacing gas appliances with electrical appliances. At some point, we need to get an electrician involved.  This does not automatically mean:

“You need an enormous new switchboard and three-phase power.”

It means finding out what your home already has and what your eventual plans are.

Tell your electrician if the future might include:

• • • reverse-cycle heating
    • heat pump hot water
    • induction cooking
    • solar
    • battery
    • EV charging.

You may not install all of those things and you may never need three phase power even if you do install all those things. 

But planning the electrical work around the future house is much smarter than treating every appliance as a completely separate project.  Looking at the longer term plan when dealing with electrical works will save you money in the long run. 

• Reverse cycle air conditioners are a smart alternative (especially ones with clean filters!)
  If you’ve already got one, great news—you’ve already got a heater! Many people don’t realise that reverse cycle units are excellent at heating, they can be up to 500% efficient and MUCH cheaper to run than gas, especially when your home is well-insulated and sealed. And if you are powering them with solar? Even better.  (Read about pre-heating here).  

So before upgrading your gas system, consider switching to (or using) efficient electric heating. Then  you will be able to keep that warm air that you've paid for exactly where it belongs - inside!

Step 7:

When the last gas appliance goes, finish the job

This is the satisfying bit.  Once there are no gas appliances left, investigate having the gas supply properly disconnected.

Why?

Because using almost no gas is not the same as having no gas account. If the only gas appliance left in the house is the cooktop, you may be paying a daily gas supply charge largely for the privilege of occasionally frying an egg.

ecoMaster already has a detailed explanation of how standing charges work.

GO DEEPER → What Is a Standing Charge?

Really!!  If you understand those seven steps, you understand the basic getting-off-gas journey. You can now start. Everything from here down helps you make the individual decisions better.

You Are Not Just Swapping Appliances - this is the bigger point.  A really good all-electric home isn't simply a gas home with three new appliances.  It is a home where the pieces start working together.

The house holds onto warmth in winter, it keeps unwanted heat out in summer.  Heating goes to the spaces people are actually using. Hot water is stored well.  Where practical, electricity use is shifted to sensible times. Solar supplies some of that electricity. And eventually there is no reason to keep paying for a second energy connection.

You do not need to build that house tomorrow - just know where you're going.