ELECTRIFY STRATA EXPLORER

Getting Started

This tool helps you estimate the costs, savings, and carbon reduction potential of electrifying your strata building. It's completely free and private — nothing you enter is saved, submitted, or sent anywhere.

What You'll Need:

• Building information (year built, floors)
• Apartment breakdown (1-bed, 2-bed, 3-bed)
• Car parking details
• Knowledge of existing gas equipment

How It Works:

1. Section A: Enter building baseline data
2. Section B: Select upgrades to explore
3. Section C: Your report card updates live — no submitting required
4. Interactive Testing: Toggle upgrades on/off to see live updates

🎯 Interactive Scenario Testing

One of the most powerful features! As soon as you start entering building data, you can instantly test different upgrade scenarios.

How It Works:

1. Start entering Section A (Building Baseline Data)
2. Section C (Report Card) appears automatically with your initial results
3. Toggle any upgrade option in Section B on or off
4. Watch Section C update in real-time!

What You Can Test:

• Compare scenarios: Solar only vs Solar + EV charging
• Prioritize upgrades: See which gives the best savings-to-cost ratio
• Phase your project: Test Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 combinations
• Budget planning: Find combinations that fit your budget
• Quick answers: "What if we skip the cooktops?" - instant results!

Example Use Cases:

• Budget constraint: Turn upgrades off until CAPEX fits your budget
• Maximum savings: Find the combination with highest annual savings
• Carbon focus: Identify upgrades with greatest GHG reduction
• Phased approach: Test different year-by-year rollout plans

Pro Tip: You don't need to re-submit! Just check/uncheck upgrade options and the Report Card updates automatically.

💡 Pro Tips for Using the Tool

Expert guidance to get the most out of your electrification assessment:

Pro Tip 1: Isolate Electrification Upgrades

Toggle off EV Charging and Rooftop Solar upgrade options to see the costs and benefits of different combinations of electrification upgrades alone. This helps you understand the pure impact of gas-to-electric conversions without the added complexity of solar or EV infrastructure.

Pro Tip 2: Combine for Best Results

Combine electrification upgrades with rooftop solar for best overall Annual Energy Cost Savings and Annual GHG Reduction. Solar panels offset the increased electricity consumption from heat pumps, improving both economics and emissions reduction.

Pro Tip 3: Understanding EV Cost Assumptions

EV charging options assume electricity consumption costs for EV charging are borne by EV Owners and therefore has no impact on the calculation of Annual Energy Cost Savings. While the building pays for the infrastructure (CAPEX), residents pay for the electricity they use to charge their vehicles.

Pro Tip 4: EV Emissions Exclusion

GHG emissions savings from EVs replacing Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles is ignored in the calculation of Annual GHG Reduction. The tool focuses on building system emissions (heating, hot water, cooking) and solar offsets only. Vehicle emissions belong to vehicle owners, not the building.

Section A: Building Baseline Data

Building Address

Enter street address, suburb (required), and state. Suburb and email are required to submit.

Building Structure

Enter number of floors for apartments, carparks, and other uses. The tool automatically calculates:

• Total Floors
• Building Type: Low-rise (≤4 floors), Mid-rise (5-15), High-rise (>15)
• Roof Area and Estimated Residents

Apartment Mix

Enter how many 1-bed, 2-bed, 3-bed, and other apartments you have. Total apartments calculates automatically.

Car Parking

Enter car spaces in each category:

• Private Internal: Basement/underground private spaces
• Private External: Surface/outdoor private spaces
• Shared/Visitor Internal: Basement/underground shared spaces
• Shared/Visitor External: Surface/outdoor shared spaces

Total Car Spaces includes all four categories.

Important for EV Charging: Need 10+ private internal spaces for EV Charging Backbone option.

Existing Gas Equipment

All gas equipment options default to "No". Select "Yes" for each type of gas equipment your building has:

• Space Heating - Common Areas: Lobbies, hallways, gyms
• Space Heating - Apartments: Individual apartment heating
• Central Hot Water: Building-wide system
• Instant Hot Water: Tankless/on-demand in apartments
• Storage Hot Water: Tank-based in apartments
• Cooktops: Gas stoves in apartments
• Pool/Spa Heating: If you select "Yes", a field appears to enter pool volume in litres

Section B: Building Electrification Planning

All options are unchecked by default. Check the upgrades you want to explore.

The section is organized into three categories with sub-headings:

1. Electrification Upgrades (6 options):

• Electrify Gas Central Heating: Common areas heating
• Electrify Apartment Gas Heating: Individual apartment heating
• Electrify Gas Central Hot Water: Building-wide hot water system
• Electrify Apartment Gas Hot Water: Individual apartment hot water
• Electrify Gas Cooktops: Replace gas stoves with induction
• Electrify Gas Spa/Pool Water Heating: Pool and spa heating

2. EV Charging (3 options):

• Install a Whole of Building Smart EV Charging System: Comprehensive infrastructure for all parking spaces
• Install Level 1 (3.6kW) Smart EV Chargers: For all private spaces
• Install Level 2 (22kW) Smart EV Chargers: For shared/visitor spaces only

3. Rooftop Solar (1 option):

• Install Rooftop Solar: Photovoltaic panels (disabled if >15 floors or existing solar)

Note: Greyed-out options are either not applicable or already in place based on your Section A inputs.

EV Charging Options

Three EV charging options available:

1. Install a Whole of Building Smart EV Charging System

• What: Comprehensive infrastructure solution providing dedicated, high-speed (7kW to 22kW) charging to all or most parking spaces
• Includes: Distribution boards, wiring, Level 2 (7.2kW) chargers for all private spaces
• Disabled when: Existing EV charging OR <10 private internal spaces
• Cost: Most comprehensive option (~$150,000-$400,000 depending on building size)
• Section A Note: Blue info icon (i) next to this option - hover or tap to see full explanation

2. Install Level 1 (3.6kW) Smart EV Chargers

• What: 3.6kW smart chargers for all private spaces (internal + external)
• Quantity: Total private spaces (internal + external)
• Cost: ~$1,000 per charger
• Disabled when: Whole of Building System is selected
• Best for: Buildings with private parking spaces wanting lower-cost EV infrastructure

3. Install Level 2 (22kW) Smart EV Chargers

• What: Fast chargers for shared/visitor spaces only
• Cost: ~$5,000 per charger
• Quantity: Shared/visitor internal + external spaces
• Disabled when: No shared/visitor spaces
• Best for: Visitor and shared parking areas needing fast charging

No Sign-up Required

There's nothing to submit and nothing to fill in "correctly" before you can see results. Your report card appears as soon as you've entered a few basics (apartment numbers and car spaces are enough to get started) and refines itself as you add more detail.

What Gets Used, and Where:

• Year Built: The single biggest driver of cost — triggers major electrical system upgrades (Main Switchboard, House Services Boards, Sub-distribution Boards) if built before 2000. Can shift CAPEX by $50,000–$200,000.
• Apartment Mix: Drives estimated roof area, resident numbers, and hot water demand
• Car Parking: Drives EV charging infrastructure quantities
• Existing Infrastructure & Gas Equipment: Determines which upgrades are relevant to your building

Your Privacy:

This tool doesn't ask for your name, email, or building address, and nothing you type is saved or sent to a server. All the numbers are calculated live in your own browser. If you refresh or close the page, everything resets.

Section C: Your Report Card

As you fill in Section A and B, you'll see four key metrics update live:

1. Total CAPEX (with 15% contingency)

Total capital cost including all equipment, labor, and 15% contingency. Rounded to nearest $1,000.

2. Annual Energy Cost Savings

How much you'll save per year by switching from gas to electricity. Based on current rates and heat pump efficiency. Rounded to nearest $1,000.

3. Annual GHG Reduction

Greenhouse gas emissions saved per year (tonnes CO₂-e). Rounded to nearest 1 tonne.

4. Blended Payback

How long it takes for savings to cover the initial investment (CAPEX ÷ Annual Savings). Displayed in years.

Detailed Breakdowns:

• CAPEX by Category: Shows costs by system type
• Equipment List: Itemized with quantities and costs
• Savings Breakdown: Shows contribution from each upgrade (carbon rounded to nearest 1 tonne)

Understanding CAPEX

What's Included:

• Consulting and professional services (when upgrades selected)
• Structural assessments (if solar selected)
• Electrical infrastructure (if building built before 2000 AND specific upgrades selected)
• All equipment and installation
• 15% contingency for unforeseen costs

What's NOT Included:

• GST (add 10%)
• Government rebates or incentives
• Removal of gas infrastructure
• Building facade modifications
• Ongoing maintenance

Smart Inclusions (New):

The tool now only includes items when necessary:

• Preliminaries: Only when upgrades selected
• Switchboards: Only if year <2000 AND specific conditions met
• Sub-distribution boards: Only if year <2000 AND relevant upgrades selected (qty: 1 for low-rise, total floors for mid/high-rise)
• Wiring: Only when associated equipment is included

Troubleshooting

Auto-calculations Not Working

• Hard refresh: Ctrl+Shift+R (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (Mac)
• Clear browser cache
• Ensure JavaScript is enabled
• Try Chrome browser

Report Card Isn't Appearing

• Enter at least one apartment count or car parking space in Section A — the report card appears automatically once there's something to calculate
• Verify internet connection (needed to load current pricing)
• Try a hard refresh if it still doesn't appear

Options Are Greyed Out

This is normal! Options disable when:

• You don't have that equipment (can't electrify what you don't have)
• You already have the infrastructure (existing solar/EV)
• Requirements not met (<10 private internal spaces for EV Backbone)
• Conflicting selections (Level 1 disabled when EV Backbone selected)

Contact & Support

Have a question about your results, or want to talk through next steps for your building? Electrification Hub is happy to help:

• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: 0459 109 075
• Website: electrificationhub.com.au

Reaching out is entirely optional — this tool works fully without contacting us.