It’s Electrified - An apartment building success story
At the 2024 High Life Expo, an apartment owner at 76 Edward St, Brunswick met Trent Jones, Director of All Electric Homes. Working with the owners corporation, they delivered an impressive electrification transformation that considered the whole building as a system.
About the building
76 Edward Street had 18 apartments running on an aging shared gas hot water system. Annual energy costs were around $19,300 and more than 30 tonnes of CO₂ were emitted each year.
The Owners Corporation new there were better solutions which could:
Eliminate gas use
Reduce bills
Future-proof the building and improve sustainability
The solution
All Electric Homes worked with the Owners Corporation to identify the biggest single energy use on site: hot water. Knowing this is where they’d achieve the most impact and in consultation with the All Electric Home experts, the owners corporation chose to:
Install 11.88kW solar system (25 × 475W Jinko panels and a 10kW GoodWe inverter)
Install 2 × 400L Reclaim Energy CO₂ heat pumps, supported by a 50L finishing tank
Complete full electrical, plumbing, and metering works
The heat pumps draw power primarily from the solar PV during daylight hours, storing hot water for on-demand use. By optimising for solar availability and aligning system sizing with actual hot water demand, the solution really delivered technically and economically.
The results
Financial: $17,944 cut on annual energy bills
Emissions: 86% decrease in CO₂ emissions
Payback period: Under 2 years
Gas dependency: Completely eliminated
Feelings: So good! This is a win, win, win for everyone who live and owns in the building
“We’re now running the hot water system on solar — saving thousands a year while slashing our carbon footprint. The upgrade pays for itself in under 2 years.”
– Apartment resident
The ‘Projected’ figures are based on a SpendWatt proposal, which used historic billing data from the building.
The ‘Actual’ figures reflect four months of billing data after installation. Note this period covers summer months where solar production is highest, hence the improved figures compared to projections. These figures will likely stabilise over a full 12-month period.
These are footsteps to follow
While every building will be different, this example is a perfect reminder of what’s possible when an owners corporation has a shared vision and find the right experts to deliver.
Congratulations to the owners of 76 Edward St and to the All Electric Homes team!
