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A volatile global economy driven by war in the Middle East has accelerated the shift to electric homes and vehicles in Australia, with average household savings climbing to $4,300 per year and the cost of solar panels, batteries and EVs continuing to fall amid sharp rises in fuel prices, new analysis by Rewiring Australia has found. 

But the findings, contained within its 2026 Home Energy Savings report, also show scores of renters, low-income homeowners, retirees and others continue to miss out on savings, underscoring the need for government-backed flexible finance to help households manage upfront costs of making the switch. 

“Every day, about 3,000 Australians replace a gas appliance in their home. Another 3,500 buy a new car. In order to lower energy bills, cut dependence on fossil fuels and help the planet, people should be choosing an electric replacement. We’re already seeing communities across the country lead the way on electric upgrades, but governments need to be delivering the plans and policies that will get that done for everyone,” Rewiring Australia CEO Francis Vierboom said. 

“Victoria’s developed a clear plan for getting off gas, and the ACT and NSW already offer low or no interest loans to help people upgrade to cheaper and cleaner homes. But we could be slashing bills much faster with clearer signals and policies that support the upgrade to electric. With COP31 comes an opportunity to show the world we are serious about making a dent in our emissions by enabling a federal government-backed scheme to turbo-charge household electrification on the scale that is required.”

The report found: 

• Households that swap gas appliances and petrol cars for electric nearly halve their energy costs, cutting bills by $4,600 a year on average, or $8,000 with rooftop solar and a battery. Even after paying for the upgrades, they come out $3,000 a year ahead, rising to $4,300 with solar and a battery.
• It’s not just for freestanding houses or large families. Apartments stand to save $1,800 a year from upgrading.
• On average, 1,100 home batteries have been installed every day since 1 July 2025, with a 15 kWh battery cutting energy bills by $800-$1,200 a year for an all-electric Australian household with solar. 
• Electric vehicles now dominate new car sales, with BYD’s Atto 1 and Dolphin bringing sticker-price parity to small cars. EV share of small cars has grown rapidly from under 7 per cent in Q4 2025 to over 20 per cent in Q2 2026. With no upfront price premium, these cars save $1,800 a year from the start. Across 13 EV models, prices have fallen about $24,000 since 2020, with the used EV market having grown 70 per cent a year since 2023. 
• Renters continue to be shortchanged, facing higher energy bills than homeowners and far fewer options to reduce their energy usage by upgrading to more efficient appliances. Only about 10% of renters have solar panels, compared with over 40% of owner-occupiers. This is due to the ‘split-incentive’: landlords have the power to install solar and upgrade appliances, but little incentive to do so because the bill savings accrue to the residents.

Mr Vierboom said: “Just shy of three million Australian families rent and around 1.6 million of those are in apartments who can save up to $1,800 a year by going fully electric. Ensuring appliances in rentals are upgraded to electric over time will unlock savings for these millions of renters - and it only gets better if we also get plug-in solar and batteries on Australian shelves so renters can take electric savings with them.

“Households currently spend more than $24 billion a year on petrol and diesel and that figure keeps rising as bowser prices go up. The Reserve Bank acknowledges oil prices are the reason inflation remains stubbornly high but a family charging an EV from its own solar panels pays nothing extra each month. The best and cheapest way to shield Australians from these shocks is to help them go electric. There has never been a better time for policymakers to embrace the anti-inflationary benefits of electrification.”

The report also recommends a national roadmap to guide the orderly wind down of Australia’s residential gas network. 

It can be read in full here: Home Energy Savings Report 2026.

Contact: Eliot Barham 0423 921 200