Chris Mavridis has spent years watching her power bills climb - she even has the spreadsheet to prove it.
“I have gas heating, gas hot water and everything else is electric. I have a huge electricity bill, and that’s what I want to get down,” she said. “It’s only a two-bedroom home and I pay $600 every three months.”
Mavridis, who lives in an older brick home, said the increases had become difficult to ignore. People she knows who have upgraded their heating and water systems off gas and installed solar say their bills now run between $60 and $90 a month.
“That’s a huge difference,” she said.
What has held her back in making changes at her own property, is not knowing how to get started.
What’s going on: That gap in knowledge is what Geelong Sustainability’s All-Electric Homes Program aimed to address during a forum held at Colac Performing Arts and Cultural Centre on Wednesday night.
More than 30 attendees gathered to meet trusted providers and installers who work with the program and learn how it works as it enters its fourth year running.
Installers for solar panels, hot water systems, and heating and cooling answered various questions from the crowd: how to access government rebates or check their eligibility, how to get started with selecting suitable solar panels and batteries for their homes and how changing technology might affect their choices.
The background: Geelong Sustainability Co-CEO Karina Donkers told the Brolga more than 750 households had participated in the program since its been operating across the Geelong region, with collective power bill savings across all households approaching $450,000 each year.
“In the moment of the cost of living crisis that we’re in, saving on our energy bills is a key part of what households really need to be looking at,” Donkers said.
The most popular upgrades include hot water heat pumps and solar and battery systems. Recently introduced federal and state government battery rebates have increased demand.
Other methods included draught proofing, induction cooktops, audits of home energy systems and split systems.
What did locals learn? Attendee Liz Collins and her husband Craig are building a new house out of town, with plans to be off-grid.
“We just need to learn a little bit more about it as we approach the building dates and know what we're looking at,” she explained.
“There are people out there that know the business so well that you can be offered that information and not be paying for it, and not feel like you're being sent down [the wrong path],” she said.
Chris Mavridis left with a clear first step of getting a home audit.
“It'll help me to know where to start, and just get on, subscribe, get an audit, just get someone there,” she said.
How to get involved: The All-Electric Homes Program covers Greater Geelong, Queenscliff, the Surf Coast, Golden Plains and Colac Otway.
Households can register an expression of interest through the Electric Homes website.