In brief:

• More than 4,600 public and community housing properties have been upgraded with new electrical appliances and ceiling insulation.
• These homes are now more comfortable and affordable to run.
• The average total saving for each household is more than $1,800.

Canberra’s social housing residents are saving money on their bills thanks to energy efficient upgrades.

The ACT Government is rolling out the upgrades with support from the Australian Government.

Since the program began in 2023, more than 4,600 public and community housing properties have been upgraded with new electrical appliances and ceiling insulation.

These homes are now more comfortable and affordable to run.

Together, households have saved $8.6 million on energy bills. The average total saving for each household is more than $1,800.

When all gas appliances in a home have been replaced with electric appliances, tenants can also close their gas account. This saves them about $320 a year in gas connection charges.

The rollout of the program is about 70 per cent complete. So far, social housing properties have received:

• more than 1,400 reverse-cycle air conditioners
• 1,846 heat pump hot water systems
• 329,630 of ceiling insulation.

The ACT Government is ahead of schedule to electrify all social housing properties, where possible, by 2030.

The next phase of work will build on these savings. Rooftop solar and batteries will be installed on at least 7,500 Housing ACT properties. They will be connected through a Virtual Power Plant.

Thousands of connected batteries will also make Canberra’s electricity grid more stable and reliable.

For more information, visit the Everyday Climate Choices website.

Read more like this:

• More Canberrans choosing electric vehicles
• Get free advice on home batteries
• Simple ways to cut back on single-use plastics
• ACT’s first network of neighbourhood batteries complete

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