Apartment electrification is complex, but could apartments lead the way?

The path to net zero requires change from all of us. Emissions need to be cut at every level, from the power sources that fuel our electricity grid to the decisions we make in our homes. 

Home electrification is a good example. Moving away from gas will reduce our pollution and may save us money. It’s also something we soon won’t have much choice about. The ACT government has signalled in its Integrated Energy Plan that the gas system in the ACT will be decommissioned over coming years, and well before 2045. So, electrification is something we all have to get on board with. But it’s easier for some homes than others.

Switching from gas is more complicated for apartments than for free standing homes. This is because apartment complexes have a single connection to the electricity grid, which is expensive to upgrade. And changes to the energy system may face various other infrastructure requirements and challenges. Apartment electrification is also more complex, because it requires decisions to be made collectively about the whole complex, including decisions about investment costs.

But could this ‘hard case’ actually teach us something about how to transition? The current approach to electrification is ad hoc and ‘consumer-led’. The early adopters, as usual, are people with the resources to make the switch. This ad hoc approach creates uncertainties for a distributed energy system that needs to match supply and demand. It also tends to reinforce inequities.

Apartment buildings may need to take a more coordinated approach. This means planning ahead and staging electrification changes so that supply and demand are coordinated within the complex. This will likely require the addition of energy generation such as solar panels, storage solutions like batteries or hot water, and collective solutions like ‘district’ hot water and heating or virtual power plants. Investment in energy efficiency and low emissions appliances, and changes in routines and practices, are also likely to be important. These are the developments that will be needed more broadly. Apartments can help us to explore these new paths and ways of working together.

Coordinated approaches to apartment decarbonisation are the subject of current research at the Australian National University’s Centre for Energy Systems (ACES). We use the language of apartment decarbonisation, which includes electrification, energy efficiency, energy demand management and reducing energy use, because all of these are important. The project is looking at technical, social and policy aspects, and the challenges and opportunities that apartments bring up. 

The research team will use energy modelling to explore options for apartments and how they stack up in terms of emissions reductions, costs and savings. It will integrate these models with insights from social research into the needs, aspirations and challenges of apartment residents and owners, and the constraints and affordances of the strata system.

We think the main insight will be that there’s more than one way to electrify a building. As well as demonstrating options and new approaches, we will also provide tools to help apartment owners’ corporations, government and industry to make more informed decisions together.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, please contact Wendy Russell (wendy.russell@anu.edu.au) or Michael Thomas (Michael.thomas@anu.edu.au). If you live in an apartment building and are interested in participating in the research, please also contact us, or follow this link:
ACT Apartment Decarbonisation | Centre for Energy Systems