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Andrew Bagnal, Leader – Technical Advice (NSW & ACT) at A.G. Coombs Advisory joined hand-picked industry experts at the inaugural “Festival of Electric Ideas Masterclass Series” hosted by The Fifth Estate in Sydney
on 19 Jul 2023.
Speaking at the “Kit & Fit Masterclass” during the festival, Andrew delved into what he had already learned about how to electrify existing buildings – the tricks to getting there faster, and the traps to avoid.
“For property owners, there is no single biggest challenge than to reach net zero. Nor for their army of advisers,” reported The Fifth Estate in their Kit & Fit Masterclass Special Report.
When it comes to electrification or degasification of an existing buildings, Andrew explained one of the first things building owners should ask themselves is “Do you need the same capacity?”
Andrew Bagnall, Leader – Technical Advice (NSW & ACT) at A.G. Coombs Advisory
“The first consideration when replacing gas heating systems is to look at plant capacity versus building load profile, because gas boilers are often oversized, which provides scope on capital cost variation and sizes when switching to a [electric] heat pump,” said Andrew.
Another consideration is building and plant lifecycle. Timing electrification for when a gas plant is reaching end of life is optimal.
“What we don’t want to see in the next five years is people putting in brand new gas boilers because the existing plant has reached end of life, and then seeing them become obsolete within two or three years after they’ve gone in,” explained Andrew.
Using three short case studies, Andrew shared the electrification journey of very different building types:
- Existing building: 720 Bourke Street, Melbourne – A 16-storey commercial office building that already had an energy efficiency rating of 5.5 stars NABERS Energy rating but had an existing gas plant of just under 4MW.
- Heritage-listed building: Old Parliament House, Canberra – A heritage-listed building with several 24/7 humidity-controlled spaces, instantaneous gas hot water and commercial gas cooking appliances.
- New building: Martin Place, Sydney – New office building initially designed with gas boilers, but at tender stage it switched to an all-electric building design to future proof itself for net zero initiatives.
Doing nothing is not an option. “Doing nothing is not generally an option for high end commercial property and I’d argue, not for anyone really. But it takes time for people to realise that,” advises Andrew.
Read the complete “Fit & Kit Masterclass – Special Report” featuring Andrew Bagnall by The Fifth Estate.
Contact A.G. Coombs and ask to speak to your closest A.G. Coombs Advisory representative and discover more by reading the 3 page Advisory Note titled “Electrifying Buildings for Net Zero – Opportunities and Issues”.
