In delivery

Research

ACT

The Canberra tradies helping households go electric

Q: Why are we working with installers?

Rewiring Australia is working with installers to understand what makes going electric easier and what can make it harder for tradies and households.

Q: What will the project do?

Over 12 months the project will talk with tradies and households through surveys, interviews and focus groups, bring local tradies together through an ACT Installer Cluster, run at least five events focused on skills and peer learning, work with installers to develop useful resources, share learnings through research reports and a webinar, and explore ways for ACT installers to keep working together after the project ends.

Q: Who is involved with the ACT Installer Project?

The project involves ACT residential installers who work with gas and electric appliances (electricians, plumbers and HVAC installers), including at least 6 installers already confident with electric technologies and at least 15 installers newer to household electrification, as well as households who have worked with an installer on a home upgrade.

Q: What are we trying to understand?

The project aims to understand what makes it easier or harder for tradies to recommend and install electric appliances, what opportunities are opening up, what knowledge and skills installers need, what questions customers have, how upfront costs affect decisions, whether training and rebates could help, and what would help tradies have better conversations with customers about going electric.

Rewiring Australia is teaming up with ACT tradies to understand and overcome the barriers that can make it harder for Canberrans to make the switch to electric homes.

Our new ACT Installer Project will work with local installers and families to explore what's helping and what's getting in the way when it comes to upgrading homes with electric appliances.

Status

In delivery

Duration

Location

ACT

Community partner

Electrify Canberra

Delivered by

Rewiring Australia

Funded by

ACT Energy Innovation Fund

The problem

Why are we working with installers?

If you've replaced an appliance such as your hot water system, heating or cooktop, or installed solar, a battery or an EV charger, or you're thinking about it, you've likely talked with a tradie. Or you might be a tradie helping households across Canberra go electric.

But going electric isn't always straightforward. Questions about new technologies, upfront costs, electrical requirements, available space and how products will work in a particular home are common.

Funded by the ACT Energy Innovation Fund, this 12-month project brings together households, residential installers and industry to share experiences, test ideas and find practical solutions that make going electric easier for more Canberrans. Your real-world insights can help improve the experience for both households and tradies.

Tradies get asked first

Replacing an appliance usually starts with a call to a tradie, not a search.

Research with both sides

Surveys, interviews and engagement activities with installers and with households.

An ACT installer cluster

Local tradies sharing ideas, learning from each other and testing solutions.

Resources they will use

Customer-facing materials built and tested with installers themselves.

The project

What will the project do?

Over 12 months we’ll talk with tradies and households, test ideas and share what we learn.

The project will:

Talk to installers and households through surveys, interviews and engagement activities.

Find out what makes going electric easier, and what can make it harder.

Bring local tradies together through an ACT Installer Cluster to share ideas, learn from each other and test practical solutions.

Create opportunities for installers to share knowledge and experiences with their peers.

Run at least five events and activities focused on skills, peer learning and practical knowledge.

Work with installers to develop and test useful resources they can use with their customers.

Share what we learn through research reports, a public summary and a webinar.

Explore ways for ACT installers to keep working together after the project ends.

Participants

Who is involved with the ACT Installer Project?

We're primarily working with ACT residential installers who install or work with gas and electric appliances, including electricians, plumbers, builders and HVAC installers. Households are an important part of the project too.

At least 6 installers

Already confident with electric technologies

We want to learn from their experience and find out what's working, what's motivating them and what would help them support even more households to go electric.

At least 15 installers

Newer to household electrification

We want to understand what would help them feel more confident working with electric technologies and supporting customers considering the switch.

Households

People who've worked with an installer on a home upgrade

We want to understand what helped them make decisions, what questions they had and what information would have made the process easier.

Research questions

What are we trying to understand?

What makes it easier or harder for tradies to recommend and install electric appliances?

What knowledge and skills do installers need?

How do upfront costs and extra installation work affect household decisions?

What would help tradies have better conversations with customers about going electric?

What opportunities are opening up for tradies as more households go electric?

What questions and concerns do customers have?

Could training, rebates, peer learning or other support make a difference?