Hume Home Energy Upgrades: snapshot of results

Westmeadows residents, Peter and Noeleen, have transformed their home through our Home Energy Upgrades program, achieving greater comfort, substantial savings, and a smaller environmental footprint. As concession card holders, they accessed significant rebates and support, making the switch to an all-electric home more affordable.

The couple installed a 12.3kW solar energy system, replaced their old gas hot water with an efficient heat pump system, and upgraded to two reverse-cycle air conditioners – a big improvement over their gas wall heater and underfloor heating, which was too costly to run. Peter and Noeleen already had induction cooking and an electric oven, so they have now disconnected from the gas network entirely.

Their main motivations were to lower their energy bills, replace inefficient appliances, and to reduce their environmental impact. The results speak for themselves: “Now electricity is around $100 per month with no gas bill, compared to around $450 a month for gas and electricity previously,” Peter explains.

The couple valued being connected with a vetted supplier, All Electric Homes, who helped them access all the government rebates. Peter said, “Everyone was helpful and friendly. The customer service was very good, and their tradespeople were professional and tidy.” With access to federal, state, and Hume Council rebates, their upgrades ended up costing about half the original price.

Comfort has improved during winter too. “Our old wall heater never warmed the main living area properly. Now the large split system heats the space really well,” Noeleen shares. They’ve also changed habits to make the most of the solar power by running appliances during the day and they are considering a battery in the future.

Peter says, “It’s been excellent – a very good investment. We thought we really should make the most of the Hume Council program, especially with the extra concession rebates available.”

Dallas resident, Waffa, has made her home warmer, more comfortable and cheaper to run through the Hume Home Energy Upgrades program. With support from the program and access to our concession rebates, Waffa was able to replace old, inefficient gas appliances with modern electric upgrades she could afford.

Through the program, Waffa installed a new heat pump hot water system and two reverse cycle split system air conditioners – a large system for the living area and a smaller one for the bedroom. Both the old gas hot water system and the wall heater were decommissioned as part of the upgrade.

The changes have made a noticeable difference to Waffa’s energy bills. “Before, the gas bill was about $400 for two months — sometimes more. Now it’s much, much less,” she says.

Waffa was particularly pleased with the program’s vetted supplier, All Electric Homes. “Matt the plumber was very nice and very helpful. When he came for the home visit, he noticed how freezing my house was and said, ‘How are you living like this?’ I had a very old gas hot water system and couldn’t afford to replace things without help. With the government and council rebates, I could afford it.”

The combined value of the federal, state and Hume Council rebates reduced the total out-of-pocket cost by more than half.

Comfort in the home has improved significantly, especially when her grandchildren visit on weekends. “Before, everyone complained because I only had a small heater and it cost too much to run. Now the split systems keep the house warm, and the hot water is very good – I always have plenty.”

Waffa proudly shares the program with others. “I told my neighbour to go through the program. It’s very good that Hume Council is doing this to help us.”

Ron and Margaret from Gladstone Park are looking forward to having no gas bill at all. With support from the Hume Home Energy Upgrades program, the retirees have switched to an all-electric home—saving money and reducing their reliance on gas.  

Their journey began with solar panels through Council’s earlier Hume Solar Roll- Out. Since then, they’ve: 

• Upgraded to split system air-conditioning 
• Replaced their 20-year-old gas hot water system with a heat pump 
• Started switching to induction cooking 

“The fact that Hume Council had done the work to find good, responsible tradespeople was a great help,” Ron said. “What really helped was not having to get quotes from unknown trades."  

“In January, our electricity bill was $20 in credit from the solar, but the much bigger savings are what we don’t pay in gas bills,” Ron explained. 

Ron said, "The Council concession rebate helped reduce the cost of a larger split system air-conditioner for the living room." They’re now preparing to fully disconnect from gas. “We paid $60 for the gas supply charge over two months when we weren’t even using any gas. It all adds up—we’re looking forward to having no gas bill at all.”  

“It is a great program,” Ron said. “They gave excellent advice, followed up promptly with everything, and the installation was really good."

Liz and Jonathan from Craigieburn are enjoying improved home comfort, especially over summer. The couple had a 7.1kW split system air conditioner installed in their main living space, plus R3.5 insulation batts fitted in their double garage ceiling. “We were really happy with the installation and of the new large split system,” Liz said. She added, “We learned about the program through a flyer and a conversation with Council staff at our local community centre. Having multiple sources meant we could trust that it was legitimate. With so many scams out there, it can be difficult to know which companies to trust.”  

Follow up from the Council program provided them with reassurance. "Any time we needed extra information or had questions everyone was responsive." Jonathan said, “We were very surprised to see that adding a split system and using it regularly has cost us nothing at all for our electric bill. Our solar power was able to absorb the cost of it completely, resulting in much cooler days.”  

According to Jonathan, changes from the garage ceiling insulation were huge. "Wow. What a difference. It's significantly reduced the temperate affect of the adjacent rooms." The couple were very satisfied with the insulation installer. "It was very easy to speak with Enviroflex to talk about our needs without needing to be versed in all the relevant products and terminology. We didn't have to chase after them in regards to scheduling either," Jonathan said.  

Overall, our experience was really positive, and we would take part again,” Liz said.