Apartment blocks need a plan to ditch gas safely
Apartments can save money and emissions by switching to electric heating, but uncoordinated replacement risks overwhelming the building's power supply.
Australians are replacing gas cooktops with induction stoves and gas heating with heat pumps. In standalone houses this is straightforward.
In apartment blocks, a single owner replacing a gas cooktop is easy, but if every owner does it, the extra electrical load can overwhelm the main switchboard. A building also needs to replace centralised gas systems like hot water heaters or HVAC units, which requires the owners corporation to act together.
One Melbourne block of 18 flats eliminated its $19,000 annual gas bill by switching to heat pumps and solar panels. The investment paid for itself in less than two years.
Bigger buildings face technical challenges: HVAC heat pumps need higher temperatures than they easily generate, and tall towers have limited roof space. The real barrier is getting agreement.
Experts recommend treating electrification as routine maintenance, not an environmental crusade, and planning it over a decade to smooth costs.
- 19,000 dollars
- Annual gas bill eliminated
- 18 flats in Melbourne
- Building size
- Less than 2 years
- Payback period
Why it mattersElectrifying your building cuts running costs and emissions, but waiting risks emergency replacement bills and special levies that apartment owners often hate.
AustraliaAustralian apartments must electrify by around 2050 to meet net zero targets. Planning now avoids forced hurried replacements later.
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