Sarah Aubrey lived in her federation house in the inner west of Sydney for 12 years before she embarked on her electrification journey. By then she was fed up with being cold in winter and paying ever increasing energy bills. So she ditched the gas, went fully electric and efficient, and now uses a quarter of the electricity she used to.

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Urgent, courageous action is needed to better integrate consumer energy assets into our electricity system if we want to underpin Australia’s future economic prosperity with lower electricity and transport costs, and eliminate our dependency on gas. A new report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) has for the first time analysed the full range of benefits that flow from householders and businesses installing consumer energy resources, also called distributed energy resources (DER). Dr Gabrielle Kuiper, a specialist in distributed energy and author of the IEEFA report argues distributed energy resources must not come second in policy, planning and regulation to transmission and large-scale generation.

Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Every time a sparkie walks out of a house, chances are they leave it more energy efficient than when they walked in. But Australia has a shortage of electricians. And we will need 35,000 more sparkies than the 170,000 we already have by 2030, and another 80,000 on top of that by 2050 if we are going to electrify everything. It's a scary prospect but one that Michael Wright, the National Secretary of the Electrical Trades Union is optimistic about.

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Former conservative energy minister Josh Frydenberg kyboshed Lord Howe Island’s plans to build a wind turbine which would help reduce its reliance on dirty, expensive diesel electricity generation. But the world heritage island community kept pursuing plans for renewables and now generates nearly 70% of their electricity from solar and battery storage. Stuart Watson, community solar and EV pioneer, and solar yachting sailor, sailed out to the island to check on the solar panels he’s installed on several private residences and resorts, and gives the low down on the island’s full electrification plans.

Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

The Climateworks Centre has modelled ways for Australia's leaky homes to become 'climate ready' using thermal upgrades and electrification, which would enable us to avoid building an oversized energy grid. Gill Armstrong, the Project Impact Manager for the Climateworks project discusses what it will take to kick-start the renovation wave.

Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

Lucinda Flynn is a home energy efficiency assessor working in Melbourne who has conducted hundreds of energy assessments that have saved householders thousands of dollars. She explains why your reverse cycle air conditioner feels blowy, why old homes can be easier to make energy efficient than new builds, and tips for retrofitting an energy upgrade on a budget.

Find more information about electrification and home energy efficiency https://switchedon.reneweconomy.com.au

The anticipated exponential increase in battery electric vehicles and battery storage systems over the next decade means lithium-ion battery recycling will become imperative if we're to get to net zero. Gavin Collis from the CSIRO discusses the future of Australia's battery recycling industry.

Ireland is developing one of the most sophisticated residential energy efficiency ecosystems in the world, built on a foundation of serious government funding, pilot projects & trials, grants, mandatory efficiency standards, financing, and one-stop-shops. Josephine Maguire from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland discusses the program and why taking the time to learn what matters to householders is key to its success.

When Katherine McConnell started her finance company Brighte, her mission was to get more solar panels on rooftops – to make more houses sustainable - by offering zero interest loans. Brighte has since evolved and grown into a one stop shop helping to finance and install solar, batteries, heating, cooling, heat pumps, EVs, and induction cooktops.

Sage Briscoe, Director of Federal Policy for Rewiring America, discusses the landmark US $500 billion Inflation Reduction Act, which is designed to help electrify American households, revolutionise how they interact with energy, modernise the electricity grid, and reshape American manufacturing.