Electrifying our homes and improving their efficiency will lower energy bills and emissions, while smoothing Australia’s pathway to a grid powered by more renewable wind and solar energy.

To play our part in tackling the climate crisis and limiting future harms, Australia’s emissions need to plummet this decade. This means moving beyond fossil fuels like coal and gas as soon as possible. We can do this by electrifying as many things as we can, and supplying as much energy as possible from renewable sources. Cutting our energy use at the same time by making our houses and the appliances within them more efficient in the way they use electricity is also an important part of the picture.

In their 2022 report Switch and save, the Climate Council showed that households can save on energy bills, make their homes healthier and help cut emissions by switching from polluting gas appliances to modern electric alternatives. In this report, the authors look closely at the important role that efficiency will play with electrification in Australia’s energy transformation.

Key findings

1. Too many Aussie homes rate poorly on energy performance, which means they are more expensive to run, unhealthier for those living in them and unnecessarily add to our climate challenge.

2. Electrifying our homes and improving their energy efficiency is one of the best two-for-one deals Australians will ever experience, as it helps people with the rising costs of living while cutting our carbon pollution.

3. There are affordable and practical ways for everyone to improve the energy performance of their home whether they rent, own, are building, or live in social housing.

4. All levels of government - federal, state and local - need to step in and work together to make sure that all Australians can benefit from better energy performance in their homes, as the cost of living crisis continues to bite.