Article sourced from New South Wales Climate and Energy Action
More Australian households are becoming active participants in the renewable energy transition to reduce emissions while improving comfort and cost certainty, installing rooftop solar, battery storage and electrified appliances.
Two Australian couples based in New South Wales share their household energy transition story, highlighting how renewable energy is being integrated into everyday living, and how both detached homes and apartments are reducing reliance on fossil fuels and traditional electricity.
Apartment Living: Meet Sophie and Jason
Sydney apartment owners, Sophie and Jason, focused on reducing energy demand while preparing their apartment for renewable electricity integration. Living in a three-storey building in the inner-west of Sydney, the pair faced challenges including heat gain, traffic noise and reliance on gas appliances.
Their upgrades prioritised improving building performance to maximise the effectiveness of renewable electricity. Ceiling fans, reverse-cycle air conditioning and honeycomb blinds were installed to improve cooling efficiency and reduce energy demand.
To further improve thermal performance, they installed double glazing using uPVC (Unplasticised Poly Vinyl Chloride) windows on the noisiest side of the apartment and magnetite secondary glazing on other windows. Air leakage was also reduced through weather sealing around entry doors, improving the apartment’s ability to retain heating and cooling powered by electricity.
A key renewable transition step was replacing their gas cooktop with an induction unit, supporting full electrification and enabling the household to benefit from renewable electricity supply as grid generation continues to decarbonise.
Although energy bill reductions were modest compared with solar-equipped homes, the improvements significantly increased comfort, reduced noise and lowered the apartment’s overall carbon footprint. Sophie and Jason are now exploring further renewable integration opportunities, including building-level solar installation and transitioning to electric hot water systems, highlighting the growing interest in shared renewable infrastructure within multi-residential developments.
Suburban Living: Meet Ken and Corinne
While Ken and Corinne had always been conscious of their energy use, their home remained uncomfortable during seasonal extremes and energy costs continued to rise.
Their renewable transition began with appliance electrification, replacing their gas cooktop with an induction unit that improved cooking efficiency while removing a direct fossil fuel source from the home.
Building upgrades followed, including the installation of insulated roller shutters that provided external shading and reduced indoor temperatures by up to 10°C during summer. By lowering cooling demand, the upgrade reduced overall energy consumption and improved the performance of renewable energy systems later installed.
The most significant shift occurred when the household installed rooftop solar and battery storage, enabling them to generate, store and use their own renewable electricity. The system has eliminated electricity bills for more than a year while providing resilience against rising energy prices.
Participation in a Virtual Power Plant has allowed Ken and Corinne to actively support the electricity grid by exporting surplus renewable energy during peak demand periods, generating additional income while helping stabilise supply.
Further electrification upgrades reinforced their renewable energy use. A heat pump water heater now uses solar-generated electricity to provide hot water, reducing annual water heating costs from approximately $600 to zero. The addition of an electric vehicle, primarily charged using rooftop solar, has delivered additional annual savings of around $2000 while significantly reducing transport emissions.
Overall, the couple estimate their staged renewable upgrades now save approximately $6000 annually, demonstrating how household-scale renewable systems can deliver both environmental and financial outcomes.
While standalone homes provide greater flexibility for solar and battery installations, apartment residents are also finding ways to integrate renewable energy solutions and reduce fossil fuel reliance.
Together, the two Australian household case studies illustrate how adopting renewable energy can be a practical solution to mitigating home energy costs and emissions reduction.