Working with Goodbye Gas took all of the guesswork out of what to do and how to do it. The process was seamless and Ben was great to work with.
Imogen Roberts
When we first saw this very tired 1980s brick house, we knew there was plenty of work to do. The obvious stuff was easy to spot: dated bathrooms, tired flooring, an old kitchen, overgrown gardens and a whole lot of cosmetic work. But we also wanted to look beyond how the house looked and think about how it would run for the next person who lives here.
That meant looking at the home's energy use, heating and cooling, hot water and electrical system, and working out what we could do now to make the house safer, more efficient and better suited to modern living. That's where Goodbye Gas came in.
How we came across Goodbye Gas
We actually met Ben from Goodbye Gas before this renovation. Ben electrified Al's parents' home in Melbourne, so we'd already seen first-hand what the retro-fitting process looked like and how helpful it was to have someone assess the whole house rather than trying to work it all out appliance by appliance. So when we started this 1980s house renovation, Goodbye Gas was one of the first calls we made. We knew we wanted to move away from gas, but we didn't necessarily know where to start or what would be involved. And that's exactly why we wanted an expert involved early.
Why we chose to work with Goodbye Gas
When you're renovating, it's very easy to focus on the things you can see. The kitchen, paint colours, flooring, tapwear. But some of the most important decisions are happening behind the walls and inside your services. This house was built nearly 40 years ago, so its electrical system was designed for a very different time, before induction cooktops, heat pump hot water systems and modern electric heating and cooling were commonplace. Rather than simply replacing the gas appliances one by one, we wanted to understand what the whole house needed.
Goodbye Gas starts with a personalised consultation and assessment of the property. They look at the existing setup, how you use the home, what needs replacing and what the house will need as it moves towards electrification.
From there, they create an electrification plan tailored to the property, giving you a much clearer picture of what to change, when to change it and how the different systems can work together. That was really valuable for us because we didn't have to become experts in every appliance or electrical decision ourselves.
What Goodbye Gas did for us
We had an on-site consultation with Ben, who assessed the property and our existing systems. One of the things he picked up on that we hadn't even considered was the switchboard. Because the house is nearly 40 years old, the existing switchboard needed upgrading to safely handle the increased electrical demand that comes with moving to a more electrified home. It's exactly the sort of thing we could have easily missed if we'd only been thinking about the cosmetic renovation.
From there, we received a custom electrification plan outlining what to change and how everything would work together. Goodbye Gas ordered the products needed for our particular home, from the hot water system, induction cooktop, to the heating and cooling. So instead of spending hours trying to compare products and work out what was actually suitable for our house, we had expert recommendations based on our specific needs.
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What we changed in this house
Induction cooking and Electric Oven
We replaced the existing gas cooktop with induction and the old oven with a new electric oven. We've lived in an all-electric home ourselves, so we're already big fans of induction cooking. It's fast, responsive and eliminates the need for gas cooking inside the home.
Heat pump hot water
We also replaced the existing gas hot water system with an electric heat pump. Heat pump hot water uses electricity to move heat rather than generating heat directly, making it a more energy-efficient way of heating water.
Heating and cooling
We upgraded the home's heating and cooling too, removing the old gas heater and old split system and replacing it with a system that is appropriate for the size of the house.
Ben also identified that the existing split system wasn't ideally positioned for the open-plan living area, so the old AC was removed and relocated to make the system work more effectively for the space.
Again, it wasn't simply about buying a new appliance. It was about understanding the house and making sure the systems worked together.
The switchboard
And then there's the part you probably don't think about when you picture a renovation. The switchboard.
The existing switchboard needed to be upgraded so the electrical system could safely support the increased demand of the new appliances and systems.
It's not particularly glamorous, but it's one of the most important parts of the project. And it's a good reminder that when you're renovating an older home, there can be significant costs and considerations hiding behind the walls.
Electrification Day
Once everything had been planned, ordered and coordinated, it was time for electrification day. The whole process was surprisingly seamless. Rather than us having to coordinate multiple different trades and suppliers, the Goodbye Gas team managed the installation and everything happened in one coordinated process.
The old air conditioning unit was removed and the brick wall was patched. The new split was then installed, along with the new induction cooktop, electric oven, the hot water heat pump and new switchboard.
And importantly, all of the old appliances that were removed were disposed of as part of their service, so we weren't left trying to work out what to do with a pile of old appliances ourselves.
It was one of those renovation days where a lot happened behind the scenes, but from our perspective, the process was incredibly straightforward.
It's more than just choosing appliances
One of the things we've found most useful is that Goodbye Gas isn't simply recommending appliances and sending you on your way. They look at the home as a whole, create a plan and then help manage the process.
They hand-pick and onboard their team of installers, coordinate the different trades and act as a single point of contact throughout the process. For us, that's a huge advantage because we're already juggling a pretty big renovation. Instead of coordinating an electrician, plumber, HVAC installer and appliance suppliers separately, there was one team managing the entire electrification side of the project.
They can also take care of the rebates, incentives and, importantly, all the boring paperwork that comes with it. And the whole installation can be done in a day, with the process from accepting your quote to installation taking around 3–4 weeks.
Why we did it
For us, electrification wasn't about ticking a sustainability box. It's about making this house work better. We're taking a house built in 1987 and updating it for the way people live today, while also thinking about the people who will live here long after we've finished the renovation.
Moving away from gas can mean fewer fossil-fuel-powered appliances in the home, while efficient electric technologies such as heat pumps can help reduce energy use. And because we were doing this as part of a renovation, it made sense to tackle the bigger infrastructure now rather than discovering later that something needed to be upgraded.
That's probably the biggest lesson we've taken from this process. Don't just renovate what you can see. Think about what is happening behind the scenes too. Because it's much easier to plan for these things at the beginning than discover them halfway through a renovation.
Thinking about electrifying your home?
If you're renovating an older home, we'd definitely recommend getting an assessment early in the process, before you design your kitchen and order your appliances.
Understanding what your home needs electrically can help you make better decisions about the rest of your renovation and potentially avoid some very unwelcome surprises later. And you don't have to work it all out yourself. Goodbye Gas can take you from a personalised consultation and electrification plan, through product selection and installer coordination, all the way through to installation.
That's exactly why we worked with Goodbye Gas on this house. We're not just trying to make this tired 1980s brick house look better. We're trying to make it work better, too.
Goodbye Gas is a Melbourne-based end-to-end home electrification service that helps Australian households transition from fossil gas to 100% electric power.
Watch The Reno Series
80’s Brick House Renovation
Read how we electrified this 1980s brick house. Replacing gas with induction, heat pump hot water, electric heating and cooling, and upgrading the switchboard.