Hume City Council has celebrated a milestone in its environmental sustainability journey at Aitken Hill Community Centre, the first Council facility converted to be fully electrified, on Wednesday 24 September.
Hume City Mayor Jarrod Bell was on hand to mark the occasion, sharing lunch with the Hosanna Community Group who are regular users of the facility, along with staff and event partners supporting attendees to save on their energy and water bills.
The Community Centre will now operate with all electric appliances fully powered by renewable energy sources, including a roof solar energy system.
The electrified building replaces the old gas connection and appliances, making this an important step in Council's goals to tackle climate change by using cleaner, energy efficient systems.
This is the first building to undergo a complete transformation into being fully electric, with Council committing to all new buildings to run on electricity only and working on progressively electrifying existing buildings.
Council's move to electric facilities is already bringing major benefits. The installation of solar panels at more than 130 Council facilities has saved about $800,000 annually on bills, and reduced carbon emissions by around 4,500 tonnes each year.
These savings are equivalent to powering around 900 homes.
For Aitken Hill Community Centre, the decision to switch from gas to electric will save around $4,700 each year on energy bills, and 15 tonnes of carbon emissions. This is in addition to savings achieved from the large 99kW solar system already installed at Aitken Hill Community Centre.
The electrification of Aitken Hill Community Centre was made possible with the help Council partners Uniting Energy Support, Yarra Valley Water, the Energy and Water Ombudsman, and cohealth (representing the Victorian Government's Energy Assistance Program).
Council is hoping to inspire residents to go all-electric and save around $2000 a year by switching from gas in their homes.
The Hume Home Energy Upgrades program helps residents switch to efficient electric appliances, and take up rooftop solar, insulation and draught proofing.
Since launching 12 months ago, more than 300 energy upgrades have been completed in homes across our city – we are keen to support even more Hume residents to experience both lower bills and greater thermal comfort.
Quotes attributable to Hume City Mayor, Councillor Jarrod Bell:
"This major achievement at Aitken Hill Community Centre speaks to two important issues currently impacting our community – the effects of climate change, and soaring energy costs.
While gas used to be the cheaper option, that's no longer the case, and we are committed to making the switch to all-electric systems for cleaner, greener and cheaper energy right across Hume.
I encourage anyone wanting to see these benefits in their own home to reach out to Council's Home Energy Upgrades program so we can support that transition."
