Building electrification for existing buildings

We take gas out of existing buildings: boilers, calorifiers, kitchens, pool heating and process loads, replaced with heat pumps and electric plant that fit the space, the structure and the electrical supply you already have. Feasibility, staging and detailed design, from a single plant room to a portfolio.

what it involves.

In a new building electrification is a design choice. In an existing one it is an engineering problem with four constraints that decide almost everything: how much heat the building really needs, what temperature it needs it at, how much electrical capacity is spare, and where new plant can physically go. Get those four right and the equipment selection is the easy part. Get them wrong and you end up with a heat pump that can't make load on a July morning, a switchboard upgrade nobody budgeted for, or plant that doesn't work with the space available.

Our studies start with the building, not the catalogue. We pull BMS trend logs and gas bills to establish the real heating load and its profile, test whether the heating hot water temperature can come down, measure spare capacity at the main switchboard, and survey the plant room, roof and risers before we size anything.

what we do.

Electrification feasibility studies. Load analysis from BMS data and utility bills, options with capex, running cost, carbon and NABERS impact, electrical capacity assessment, staging and a recommended pathway. The study is written so a board or council can make the decision from it.

Low-temperature heating conversion. Most gas boiler systems run heating hot water at 70 to 80 °C. Heat pumps are far cheaper and more efficient at 60 °C or below. We test, usually with a controlled BMS trial over winter, whether the building holds comfort at lower flow temperatures, and where it can't, what coil or valve changes make it work.

Heat pump plant design. Air-source and water-source heat pumps, 4-pipe heating and cooling plant, high-temperature units where required, low-GWP refrigerants, thermal storage to shave peak electrical demand, and the controls to run it all. Sized to the measured load, which is often well below the boiler nameplate.

Electrical capacity and infrastructure. Spare capacity assessment, demand management, submain and switchboard works, and liaison with the distributor when a supply upgrade is unavoidable. The aim is always to stay within the existing supply.

Staging and continuity. Buildings stay occupied. We sequence works so heating is never lost, separate domestic hot water from space heating where that lets a stage go early, and keep existing plant as backup through the first winter where that de-risks the change.

Tender documentation and construction phase. Specifications, drawings, schedules, tender assessment, site inspections and commissioning witnessing.

building types.

Commercial office towers with central boiler plant · Aquatic and leisure centres with pool heating and large domestic hot water loads · Hospitals and aged care with steam, calorifier and sterilisation loads · Schools and universities with distributed gas heating · Council and government assets · Agricultural and industrial sites with gas process heat.

questions we get asked.

Can a heat pump replace a gas boiler without upgrading the electrical supply?

Often, yes. A boiler is usually oversized against the real load, and a heat pump sized to measured demand draws a fraction of the boiler's nameplate in electrical terms. Thermal storage, demand limiting and sequencing against the chiller plant can keep the peak within the existing supply. The answer comes from a measured load profile and a capacity check at the main switchboard, not from a rule of thumb.

Do we have to lower the heating water temperature?

Not always, but it is the single biggest lever on cost and efficiency. High-temperature heat pumps exist and we use them where the building genuinely needs 70-75 °C, but a building that can run at 55 to 60 °C gets cheaper plant, higher COP and more product choice.

What happens to our NABERS Energy rating?

Electrification changes the energy mix, and NABERS treats electricity and gas differently (for now). On most office buildings a well-designed heat pump conversion holds or improves the rating; a poorly sized one can hurt it. We model the NABERS impact as part of every study.

Can it be done while the building is occupied?

Yes, and nearly all of our work is. Staging, temporary plant and keeping existing boilers as backup through commissioning are standard parts of the design.

How long does a feasibility study take?

Typically four to eight weeks, longer if a winter BMS trial is needed to confirm low-temperature operation.

What does it cost?

A feasibility study for a single building is usually a modest fixed fee; design and documentation are scoped to the plant.

related services.

Major plant replacement · Energy efficiency upgrades and BMS optimisation · Portfolio decarbonisation strategy · NABERS ratings