Hume Home Energy Upgrades: snapshot of results
The Hume Home Energy Upgrades program helps residents to enhance their homes' energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and create healthier, climate-resilient homes.
Through a partnership with Yarra Energy Foundation, and appointed suppliers All Electric Homes and Enviroflex, the program offers free home energy efficiency advice and education, home visits and no obligation quotes on: reverse cycle heating and cooling (split systems), heat pump hot water systems, rooftop solar, induction cooktops, ceiling, wall and underfloor insulation, and draught proofing.
The program assists residents to access government rebates and provides extra Council rebates for concession card holders to reduce upfront costs.
In the first 12 months of the program, the program is achieving the following outcomes (as at 27 November 2025):
- 1101 residents registered, with new registrations daily
- Most registrants nominate multiple upgrades
- 397 home energy upgrades completed
- 252 home energy upgrades supported by Council concession rebates
Most popular upgrades
- Split system heating and cooling (164 installs)
- Heat pump hot water systems (95 installs)
- Rooftop solar (47 installs)
- Solar batteries (3 installs)
- Induction cooktops (25 installs)
- Insulation (61 installs)
- Draught proofing (2 install)
We have also collaborated with the Brotherhood of St Laurence on the Climate Safe Homes program to support seven Hume residents – whose health conditions are exacerbated by extreme temperatures – with subsidised installation of split system air conditioning.
Carbon emissions abatement
- 1,548 CO2-e tonnes avoided over lifespan of solar and electric upgrades, plus additional savings from thermal upgrades.
Financial savings
- $1,410: Average estimated annual bill savings for concession households through full home electrification, no use of gas.
Get started with Hume Home Energy Upgrades
Register for free advice and no obligation quotes on energy saving products:
Register now
Stories of local savings
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.