Building all-electric homes: the switchboard, appliances and wiring decisions that matter

All-electric homes have gone from a niche choice to a mainstream option in a few years. In Victoria, new homes requiring a planning permit applied for from 1 January 2024 cannot connect to gas. The ACT has moved away from new gas connections too. Elsewhere, including NSW, there is no ban, but many clients are choosing all-electric because of running costs, rooftop solar, energy targets and health concerns about indoor gas appliances.

For builders, the appliances themselves are the easy part. The decisions that make or break an all-electric home are about supply capacity, the switchboard, circuits and future-proofing. Get those wrong, and the client ends up with a house that cannot take a battery or an EV charger without an expensive upgrade.

What “all-electric” means

An all-electric home uses electricity for everything a gas connection would otherwise do: hot water, space heating, cooking and sometimes clothes drying. With no gas connection, there is no gas supply charge, no gas meter and no gas pipework in the house.

Most all-electric homes pair the electric appliances with rooftop solar, so a large share of the energy is generated on site during the day. Increasingly, they also include a home battery or are designed to take one later.

The core appliances

Heat pump hot water

A heat pump water heater uses a refrigeration cycle to move heat from the air into the water, using far less electricity than a conventional element. It is usually the most important single appliance in an all-electric home’s energy budget. Siting matters: heat pumps make some noise, need airflow, and work best when programmed to run during the day on solar. Our heat pump guide covers the details.

Reverse-cycle air conditioning

Reverse-cycle air conditioners, split or ducted, provide both heating and cooling using heat pump technology. In an all-electric home they replace gas heating. Ducted systems suit larger homes; split systems suit smaller homes, zoned living and renovations. Outdoor unit locations need the same thought as heat pumps: noise, airflow, access and the neighbours.

Induction cooking

Induction cooktops heat the pan directly through a magnetic field. They are fast, precise and easy to clean, and they avoid combustion inside the home. They need pans that work on induction, which is worth mentioning to clients early, and they need a dedicated circuit sized to the cooktop.

Heat pump dryers

Heat pump clothes dryers use much less energy than conventional vented dryers and do not need external venting. They are a small but useful part of an efficient all-electric home.

The switchboard and supply: where builders get it wrong

An all-electric home can draw far more power at once than a home with gas: heat pump running, air conditioning on, induction cooktop and oven at dinner time, a dryer, a pool pump, and perhaps an electric vehicle charging in the garage. The electrical design must handle that.

The electrician calculates the maximum demand using the method in the wiring rules. That calculation decides the size of the consumer mains, whether a single-phase supply is enough or three-phase is needed, and how big the switchboard must be. The network operator’s connection rules also apply, including limits on single-phase supplies and requirements for solar and battery connections.

The common failures are predictable: a switchboard with no spare ways, a supply sized for today’s appliances with no room for a battery or EV charger, and no conduits to where those future items will go. Each is cheap to get right during construction and expensive to fix after handover.

Solar, batteries and future readiness

Rooftop solar is the natural partner for an all-electric home. Daytime loads such as the heat pump, dishwasher and washing machine can run on solar, and a battery can shift solar energy into the evening.

Batteries became significantly more affordable with the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which started in July 2025 and provides an upfront discount of around 30% on eligible batteries through the small-scale renewable energy scheme. The discount scales down for larger batteries. Many clients who do not buy a battery at handover will want one within a few years, so designing for it now is sensible.

Electric vehicle charging

Many clients building a new home now have, or expect to have, an electric vehicle. A dedicated EV charger typically needs its own circuit from the switchboard, and faster chargers draw significant current. Even if the client does not want a charger at handover, running a conduit or cable to the garage or car space, and leaving a spare way on the switchboard, costs little and avoids future disruption.

Energy targets and all-electric design

All-electric design helps with energy targets. In NSW, the BASIX energy section credits efficient hot water, heating and cooling and on-site solar, and all-electric homes with a heat pump and solar generally meet the energy target comfortably. In states using the NCC’s whole-of-home energy provisions, efficient electric appliances and solar do the same job. The thermal performance of the building fabric still matters: a well-insulated, well-sealed, well-shaded home needs less heating and cooling, which reduces both the appliance size and the electricity bill.

Renovations: going all-electric in an existing home

Converting an existing gas home to all-electric is a common renovation request. The sequence matters:

1. Assess supply and switchboard first. Older homes often have small switchboards and limited supply. Upgrading them is usually the first job.
2. Replace appliances in a logical order. Often hot water and heating first, cooking when the kitchen is renovated.
3. Cap and remove gas properly. A licensed gasfitter must disconnect and make safe any gas supply, and the gas retailer and network may need to be notified to remove the meter.
4. Consider the building fabric. Adding insulation and draught-sealing often reduces the size and cost of heating and cooling equipment.

A worked example: the four-bedroom family home

A builder is pricing a four-bedroom, two-storey home for a family that wants to go all-electric. The design includes a heat pump water heater, ducted reverse-cycle air conditioning, an induction cooktop and electric oven, a heat pump dryer and a pool pump. The clients want solar now and plan to buy an electric car and a battery within a few years.

The builder involves the electrician at design stage. The maximum demand calculation, including the future EV charger and battery, shows the load is best served by a three-phase supply, which the network operator’s rules allow for the site. The switchboard is specified with spare ways for the battery, EV charger and additional solar. A conduit runs from the switchboard to a garage wall set aside for the battery and charger, and another runs to the roof for future panels. The heat pump is positioned on the side of the house away from bedrooms and the neighbour’s living area, with a timer set to run on solar.

At handover, the clients receive a plan showing the conduits, the spare switchboard ways and the space reserved for the battery. Two years later, the battery and charger are installed in a day, with no walls opened. That is what future-proofing looks like in practice.

Common mistakes on all-electric homes

• Undersized supply. Sizing for today’s appliances and forgetting the car and battery.
• No spare switchboard ways. The cheapest future-proofing item, and the most often missed.
• Noisy equipment in the wrong place. Heat pump and air conditioning units under bedroom windows or against the neighbour’s fence.
• Induction surprises. Clients discovering at handover that their pans do not work.
• Night-time running. Heat pumps and pool pumps set to run overnight when the house has solar.
• Poor building fabric. Relying on appliances to overcome a poorly insulated, leaky house, which drives up both equipment size and bills.

Talking to clients

Clients choosing all-electric usually want lower running costs and a future-proof home. The conversation should cover four things: the upfront cost of appliances compared with gas, the running cost advantages especially with solar, what they need to change in how they cook and use hot water, and what the house is ready for in future (battery, EV, more solar). Clients who understand those trade-offs make better decisions and are happier at handover.

Building fabric first

The most efficient electric appliance is the one that runs less. A home with good insulation, well-performing windows, sensible shading and good air sealing needs smaller heating and cooling equipment, uses less electricity and is more comfortable. All-electric design works best when the building fabric is right first, and the appliances are sized for the house that was actually built.

Trades and compliance

All-electric homes put more responsibility on the electrician. Maximum demand calculations, circuit design, solar and battery connections and EV charging all require licensed electrical work and the appropriate certificates of compliance. Heat pump installation involves plumbing and electrical trades, and split systems may need a refrigerant-licensed technician. Coordinate those trades early, because the electrical design affects the switchboard location, the conduit runs and the roof layout for solar.

The bottom line

All-electric homes are becoming the default in some states and a popular choice in others. The appliances are straightforward. The builder’s value is in the design behind them: supply capacity calculated properly, a switchboard with room to grow, dedicated circuits, and conduits and space for the battery and EV charger the client will almost certainly want later. Build that in now, and the house stays future-ready long after handover.

Questions builders ask

• Electrification
• Heat pumps
• Solar

Published 15 August 2026. General information for builders, not legal, financial or engineering advice for a specific job. Check current requirements with the relevant regulator or standard before relying on them.