What should I electrify first?

You can switch from gas in stages. Planning lets each purchase fit the next one and gives you time to investigate installation costs and assistance.

If hot water has failed, reliability is the first job. Ask installers about suitable electric replacements and whether a temporary hot-water arrangement can give you time to compare options. Some installers can offer that service.

Tell the installer the system has failed and whether it is gas or electric. Before agreeing, ask for the exact model, the complete price, the earliest workable date and any approval steps a rebate or discount requires. Base the budget on support you can confirm today, including cash needed before any reimbursement.

If heating is the problem, look at the rooms you need to keep comfortable and how much heat the home loses. A draughty house may benefit from insulation and sealing before you choose the size of a replacement system. Ask the heating installer which of those improvements would change the proposed heating size. In the ACT, the Home Energy Efficiency Program (opens in a new tab) provides a free assessment route for eligible households.

For example, the ACT Government’s published Bonny case study describes an assessment recommending improvements to the house first, followed by appliance replacements in stages. The family draught-proofed, insulated and upgraded windows, and Bonny reported the energy rating rising from zero to four stars. Read the fuller story.

A cold room does not automatically need a bigger heater. An assessment can help distinguish a building problem from an equipment problem. Keep ventilation required for gas appliances clear while investigating draughts.

List your gas appliances, their condition and the job each one does. Add the gas used across a year if you have that information.

A large gas-heating load may make efficient reverse-cycle heating a useful priority. A gas hot-water system nearing replacement may be a good opportunity to investigate a heat pump. Cooking might move earlier if you are already renovating the kitchen.

For colder parts of the region, ask about the proposed hot-water system’s cold-weather performance. The Australian Government notes that not all heat pumps are designed for cold locations.

Consider the last gas appliance too. Once every gas appliance has been replaced, arranging the appropriate disconnection and closing the account can remove the ongoing gas supply charge. For an ActewAGL account, our gas meter removal information (opens in a new tab) explains the abolishment route. Ask us to confirm the process and fees for your address before including them in a savings estimate.

Until then, you still need a gas account, so do not count the whole supply charge as a saving from the first replacement. ACT guidance distinguishes disconnection, which closes the account and caps the gas line, from abolishment, which permanently removes the connection; ask licensed trades and the retailer which suits your home.

For each likely replacement, record the appliance type, an installed quote, preparation work and the support you may qualify for. Include repair or keeping the current appliance as an option while it remains useful. The plan should help you handle a breakdown without rushing the whole home into an upgrade.

A worked example

An illustrative household’s plan, as a format to copy rather than a recommended order:

This household has an electrician assess all three jobs at once. The cooktop, as the last gas appliance, carries the gas-closure cost in its budget.

Ask an electrician to assess the planned loads as a group, including hot water, heating, cooking and any electric vehicle (EV) charging. The plan may need new circuits, switchboard work or changes to the supply connection. In apartments, shared infrastructure and collective decisions can add further steps, as ANU’s ACT apartment research highlights.

What to ask the electrician

• Can the switchboard and supply carry the planned appliances together?
• Can the electrical work be done once for the whole sequence, or will later work be needed?
• Do the space, placement and noise suit the proposed heat-pump and heating locations?

Check the support route before the first job

As at 13 October 2026, the ordinary Sustainable Household Scheme loan lets eligible products be installed individually or together within the household’s available limit. Access to Electric, which fully funds approved upgrades for eligible ACT homeowners in financial hardship, requires participants to replace all gas appliances and permanently disconnect gas. Using another support program first can affect that hardship pathway, so check eligibility before spending money.

Home Energy Support’s heating and cooling, hot water, electric cooking and ceiling insulation upgrades share one category cap, so replacing two appliances does not create two allowances. ACT program eligibility does not transfer to a Queanbeyan or other NSW address. Our ACT gas-to-electric rebates explainer sets out each route’s conditions.

Ask for the appliance, installation, extra electrical or plumbing work, removal of old equipment and any final gas-connection work to be itemised. For a heat pump, check winter operation and the proposed location too. Compare the same scope across quotes so an attractive hardware price does not hide the rest of the job.

Availability checked 13 October 2026: ordinary new ACT Sustainable Household Scheme loans carry 3% interest. Eligible Home Energy Support participants have a separate rebate and zero-interest loan pathway. For the rebate-only route, wait for pre-approval before accepting a quote; reimbursement comes after installation, so check the money needed upfront.

Availability checked 13 October 2026: NSW Home Energy Saver loans are open with no current closing date listed. Discount applications remain “coming soon”. If you want both for the same purchase, the published advice is to wait and apply for the discount first. A purchase financed with the loan first cannot later receive that discount for the same purchase.

We suggest choosing the next step you can afford and explaining what it will solve. It might be an assessment, a repair, insulation or an electric replacement. Separate the installed cost, confirmed discounts, cash paid upfront and loan repayments. Borrowing changes how you pay for the work; it is not itself a saving.

A worked example of the lines to keep separate

As at 13 October 2026, that Home Energy Support category provides eligible homeowners up to 50% of the supply and installation cost, capped at $2,500. Suppose an approved upgrade costs $6,000, with no other discounts and the full allowance available. Half is $3,000, but the cap limits the rebate to $2,500.

On the rebate-only route, you may need to pay the full $6,000 before the $2,500 arrives. Show any loan repayments as a separate line, not as a reduction in cost.

Related advice: Gas-to-electric rebates in the ACT: what should I replace first? · Heat-pump hot-water rebates in the ACT and NSW: what will I actually pay? · What size hot-water system do I need?

Visit Electrify with ActewAGL (opens in a new tab) to explore upgrades and request quotes through approved installers. Check current eligibility, discounts and any government approval sequence before accepting a quote. Our heating and cooling upgrade (opens in a new tab) and hot-water upgrade (opens in a new tab) pages explain offers for eligible ACT electricity customers replacing the specified gas systems. For an ActewAGL gas account, our gas meter removal information (opens in a new tab) explains the abolishment route. If you’re with another retailer, ask it about closing your gas account and the removal process.

Each replacement also changes when your home uses electricity, so review your plan using the proposed operating times, winter use and any gas charges that remain while the work is staged.

See what you can save with Electrify (opens in a new tab)