My Home Electrification Journey

My cottage is 100 years old. I love it and I love living here. But it's also colder inside than out during winter if the heat pump's off.

We've been here 17 years and it's the classic "builder’s house" situation. I've been so busy helping everyone else become more sustainable that it's been a bit neglected. It's also just reality - we've been busy raising a family, with an Auckland sized mortgage and running businesses.

We've actually done quite a bit when you list it all:

• insulation in the roof cavity and underfloor
• heat pump in the living area
• high WELS and Energy Star rated appliances: dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, and fridge
• low flow shower head and taps
• curtains or blinds on 95% of the windows
• replaced the gas oven with an electric oven and induction cooktop
• fully electric transport - with a Nissan Leaf and a Magnum e-bike - plus <1 km to the closest train and bus stops

💚 in August 2026 we installed a long desired final step towards getting off gas: our new hot water heat pump.

We’re a family of four, two of us work from home, my two sons are at university, plus a regular for "sleepovers".

We have 4*+ energy rated appliances, a Nissan Leaf, a heat pump - the brand new hot water heat pump - and so many phone/computer devices I've lost count.

All lighting is LED in our 100 year old timber cottage with single glazing, and we have ceiling and underfloor insulation.

When our faithful old Toyota Corolla died on Dominion Road in 2018 we bit the bullet and bought our first EV a second hand white Nissan Leaf.

As a one car household it was a commitment buying into a vehicle with a relatively low range. But the vast majority of our trips are very short and this seemed like an affordable entry point for us.

Post Covid in 2021 we had an unfortunate incident when a bus ran a red light and smashed the Leaf over onto the opposite side of the road - writing off our first EV. We were lucky though to sneak in on the last of the EV subsidies at that time, and with this and the insurance money managed to buy a teal 2017 version, 1 year newer, as a result.

Our charging is nothing fancy, just the charge cord that came with it slung out a window from a standard three point plug inside - we mainly slow charge at home. But sometimes do last minute top ups ahead of a weekend or multi-trip day at a public charging station nearby.

To be honest I don’t use the car much. My main love is my e-bike, a second hand Magnum, bought off Trade Me for $1,400. We’re also a 5 minute walk from the nearest East-West line train station and a fully electric train. All within an easy 10-15 minutes of the inner city. Not to mention heaps of buses all within easy walking distance.