An older switchboard often can’t handle a heat pump, an induction cooktop and an EV charger all at once. Upgrading it is the job that makes the rest of your electric upgrades possible.
A common sign
“The electrician said our switchboard needs upgrading before they can install anything.”
About switchboard upgrades
Your switchboard is where power comes into your home and gets shared out to each circuit. Older boards often use ceramic fuses, have no room for new circuits and may not have safety switches, which cut the power if something goes wrong.
A new switchboard gives you room for the circuits a modern electric home needs, with safety switches to protect your family. Planning ahead means you only do it once.
Old fuse boards and frequent power trips
Adding an induction cooktop, heat pump or EV charger
Homes without modern safety switches
Tell your electrician everything you might add in the next few years. Sizing the board for all of it now saves paying for a second upgrade later.
Not sure where to start?
Don’t waste money on upgrades you don’t need. A professional home energy assessment shows where your house loses heat and power, so your budget goes where it makes the biggest difference.
Find an assessor near meSwitchboard upgrade electricians
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More in gas to electric
Replace the gas appliances one by one, hot water, heating, cooking, and stop paying two connection fees to keep the house running.
A heat pump uses a fraction of the electricity of an old electric tank, and it is the usual first swap when a gas system fails.
Heats the water in your radiators or heated slab with an electric heat pump instead of a gas boiler. The pipes and radiators can often stay, though not always, so ask.
Roof collectors with a boosted tank. A different product from a heat pump, and still the cheaper option on some rooftops.
Warms the pool with an electric heat pump or solar collectors on the roof instead of gas. Pairs well with rooftop solar, and a pool cover keeps the heat in.
Replaces an old single speed pump with a variable speed one that runs slower for longer, so keeping the water clean takes less power.
Faster than gas, and it takes the last flame out of the kitchen. Usually needs its own circuit run from the switchboard.
One unit for one room, or several heads off one outdoor box. The cheapest way to heat and cool the rooms you actually use.
Ducted through the whole house. The vents from a ducted gas furnace can often be reused, though not always, so ask before you count on it.
A filter clean and a gas check keeps a system running at the efficiency it was sold at. Cheap next to replacing it early.
The last step. Once every gas appliance is gone, removing the meter is what actually ends the daily supply charge.
Before you choose an installer
Related goal
A switchboard upgrade often comes before induction, hot water and heating. See how the steps to get off gas fit together.