Electrification of residential construction: gas to electric, heat pumps, solar and batteries

What it is

Electrification in residential construction means designing and building a home with no gas connection and with all energy services delivered through the electrical system. Cooking moves from gas to induction. Hot water moves from gas instantaneous or storage to a heat pump or solar boosted electric unit. Space heating moves from gas ducted or hydronic to reverse cycle air conditioning. Pool, spa and outdoor heating follow the same pattern.

The shift matters because the grid is decarbonising and electric appliances ride that curve down for free. Gas appliances do not. The federal trajectory is to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. Victoria has banned new gas connections for homes that need a planning permit since 1 January 2024, with a wider ban on 1 January 2027. The ACT runs a similar pathway. NSW BASIX, Queensland and WA do not ban gas outright but use sustainability scoring to push designs toward all electric.

TradeLens reads contracts, plumbing and electrical specifications and BASIX or NatHERS Whole of Home reports to flag gas appliances specified into jurisdictions where they are now restricted, and to surface electric specifications that the chosen electrical service cannot actually support.

Gas to electric on the appliance side

Four appliance switches turn up on every electrified residential build.

Cooking

Induction cooktops replace gas hobs. Induction transfers heat directly into the pan through a magnetic field, so the cooktop surface stays cool, control is precise and boil time is faster than radiant electric. The kitchen circuit needs a dedicated 32 amp supply for a full size induction unit, and cookware has to be magnetic.

Hot water

Heat pump hot water units replace gas storage and gas instantaneous systems. A heat pump moves heat from outside air into the water tank using a refrigeration cycle, so it delivers three to four units of heat for every unit of electricity. Operating cost is the lowest of any mainstream hot water option in Australia and the unit qualifies for federal Small Scale Technology Certificates plus state rebates.

Space heating

Reverse cycle air conditioners replace gas ducted heating and gas wall units. A modern split or ducted reverse cycle unit delivers four to five units of heat per unit of electricity at typical Australian climate zones. The same unit handles cooling in summer, which removes the duplicate equipment that a gas plus separate cooling system requires.

Outdoor and pool

Pool heat pumps replace gas pool heaters. Outdoor cooking moves to portable induction or electric barbecue units. The remaining gas item on a typical pre electric home, the outdoor instantaneous hot water for an alfresco shower, becomes a small dedicated heat pump or a tee off the main system.

Solar PV and battery storage

Rooftop solar is the cheapest source of electricity on a residential build in Australia. A 6.6 to 10 kilowatt array on a new house in the eastern states pays back in around three to five years and generates federal Small Scale Technology Certificates at installation. The Clean Energy Regulator administers the scheme and sets the deeming periods that drive the rebate value.

Battery storage shifts solar generation into the evening peak. The 2025 federal Cheaper Home Batteries program added an STC uplift for batteries paired with solar, with state top ups in NSW, VIC and SA.

For the builder the practical impact is two things. The electrical service has to support the full electrified load, usually a 100 amp single phase supply or a three phase service on larger homes. And the roof orientation and shading have to allow the solar array the BASIX or Whole of Home certificate assumes.

State policy snapshot

Victoria leads. From 1 January 2024 new homes that need a planning permit cannot connect to reticulated gas. From 1 January 2027 the rule expands to all new homes plus most new commercial buildings. Gas hot water units that fail at end of life in existing homes must be replaced with an electric alternative from 1 March 2027.

The ACT runs an equivalent ban on new gas connections. NSW does not ban gas but the Enhanced BASIX uplift from October 2023 lifted the energy score floor in a way that gas hot water and gas space heating struggle to meet without offsetting solar PV. Queensland and WA do not impose a gas ban but state efficiency programs push the same direction.

How TradeLens uses this

TradeLens flags residential contracts that lock in gas appliances on Victorian or ACT projects subject to the connection rules, designs that promise an all electric outcome on a switchboard that cannot carry the load and certificates that depend on a solar array the site cannot deliver. It also surfaces gas hot water units in rental and turn key projects that will hit the Victorian replacement rule before their first full service life.