Chelsea has two kinds of house: beach-era homes with a gas wall furnace or ducted gas added later, and townhouses with a single split and gas everywhere else. We plan both off gas in one sequence, with every trade on our own payroll.
Home electrification in Chelsea starts by working out which Chelsea you live in. The 1950s and 1960s beach-era houses that remain are single storey, often heated by a gas wall furnace or space heater in the hallway or lounge, sometimes with ducted gas added later, plus a gas hot water unit on an outside wall and a gas cooktop. The townhouses that have replaced many of them are two storeys on a narrow block, with gas hot water, a gas cooktop and either ducted gas or a single split system.
The older homes usually have the most to gain. A wall furnace heats one room and leaves the bedrooms cold; replacing it with reverse cycle splits or a multi-head gives every room heating and cooling for around a third of the running cost of gas heating. In a townhouse the bigger question is space: where an outdoor unit, a heat pump and a battery can each go on a block with a side path under a metre wide.
Both sit close to the bay, so outdoor equipment is chosen and mounted for salt. We plan the full sequence at one inspection, set the order around whichever appliance is closest to failing, and stage the work as you like. The rest of our Chelsea work is listed here.
Every item fitted by our own electricians, refrigeration technicians and plumbers.
In beach-era homes, split systems or a multi-head from Mitsubishi Electric or Hisense, a few hours per split. Where ducted gas can be reached, ducted reverse cycle on new R1.5 insulated ducts, typically one to two days. In two-storey townhouses where the ducts between floors cannot be replaced, a Braemar Dominator keeps them.
Emerald, Reclaim, iStore or Haier, chosen to fit the side path. Normally one day with plumber and electrician together, at about a quarter of the energy of gas storage.
An induction cooktop on its own circuit. Up the bay in Mordialloc we did exactly this alongside solar and a battery. No rebate, fixed price.
The switchboard checked first, then solar on the planes that pay and a battery where it fits, garage first. An EV charger circuit can be planned in at the same time.
The full range is on our products page.
Ducted reverse cycle on new R1.5 ducts, or split systems, in place of ducted gas or a wall furnace.
A heat pump in place of the gas storage or instantaneous unit, usually changed over in one day.
The last gas appliance in most kitchens, replaced with induction on its own circuit.
Solar and storage sized for the new electric load, with an EV charger on the same system.
No Chelsea electrification is written up yet. These come from Mordialloc, Mount Martha and Blairgowrie.
A few kilometres up the bay in Mordialloc, the gas cooktop came out and induction went in on its own circuit, with 13.3kW of Jinko solar on tile and 24.96kWh of GoodWe storage beside the switchboard.
In Mount Martha, the gas wall furnace in the hallway was decommissioned and replaced with reverse cycle, plus an Emerald heat pump, 29 Jinko panels on tile and 27.12kWh of SigenStor. The switchboard was upgraded with every circuit labelled.
Down the bay in Blairgowrie, a double-storey home on a single-phase board was rewired to three phase. Gas heating, hot water and cooking were replaced with Mitsubishi Electric splits, a heat pump and induction.
On a narrow Chelsea block, every outdoor box needs its own spot. We map them all at once.
Wall furnace or ducted heater, hot water, cooktop, and their age.
Where an outdoor unit, a heat pump and a battery can each go, with clearances to boundaries and windows.
Switchboard capacity, supply and which roof planes are worth covering.
One plan, each item priced with its incentives applied, approved together or in stages.
Salt-rated mounting outdoors, everything tested, and a Certificate of Electrical Safety for the electrical work.
Electrification is a set of separate jobs, and each has its own incentive, or none.
Cheaper Home Batteries, around 30 percent with no income test. Solar Victoria no longer has a battery rebate or loan.
VEU discounts apply to reverse cycle heating and cooling and to heat pump hot water. STCs also apply to heat pumps. For the heating options in detail, see heating and cooling in Chelsea.
The Solar Victoria rebate and interest-free loan for eligible owner-occupiers, and STCs, on panels and inverter. Induction and EV chargers carry no rebate and are a fixed price.
Taking a house off gas touches refrigeration, plumbing and electrical. We hold all three.
Corrosion-protected coils, salt-rated brackets and sheltered positions are how we work near the bay.
REC 32300 for electrical, ARC licensed (AU 065299) for refrigerant handling and BPC 132072 for plumbing.
More than 5,000 Melbourne homes started on electrification and 20+ years in the trade.
For townhouses on a plan, we supply drawings and equipment details for any approval you need.
Live Google reviews. Look for the whole-home and off-gas jobs.
Anything else, call 0466 355 441. An electrician answers.
Usually reverse cycle splits or a multi-head system, giving each room its own heating and cooling. A split takes a few hours to fit.
The work is the same, but space is tighter. We plan where the outdoor unit, heat pump and battery go together so they do not compete for the same metre of side path.
Not where they can be replaced. New R1.5 insulated ducts are standard. A Braemar Dominator on existing ducts is used only where the runs cannot be reached, usually between floors in a two-storey home.
Unprotected units do weather faster near the beach. We fit corrosion-protected coils and salt-rated brackets and choose sheltered positions.
Yes. The plan is set at the first inspection so each step fits the next. Most households start with whichever appliance is closest to failing.
Older Chelsea homes often need an upgrade before everything goes electric. We check it first and include any work in the plan.
One inspection of every gas appliance, the board and the outdoor space, then a written plan with each step priced and its incentives applied. No obligation.
