Electrify your apartment building

Almost 83 percent of residents within the City of Yarra live in medium to high density homes. Well performing, efficient buildings cost less money to run however the process of how to do this can seem confusing or daunting to navigate. 

While there are a number of resources and programs out there to help standalone houses, apartment building electrification is different as there is no single template for every building. Some buildings should start with shared hot water. Others should begin with solar sharing, common-area solar, switchboard upgrades or EV charging infrastructure. Below are resources to help apartment owners, residents, building and strata managers better manage their energy in apartments and apartment buildings.

The  Apartments Guide to Electrification [ PDF, 747.97 KB]  provides a step-by-step process to transition to all-electric for both common areas and your apartment or townhouse.

This guide makes choosing electric products simple by providing product recommendations. The benefits and considerations for each product have a rating of Best, Good and OK.

Yarra's Apartment Building Electrification Program

Yarra Council has partnered with All Electric Homes to pilot a free program to provide expert, independent advice to help 12 eligible Yarra apartment buildings electrify – to see what’s possible, what should come first and to provide the guidance on how your Owners Corporation can move forward with confidence. 

High Life resources

Visit the High Life website for more resources and inspiration on going electric and improving sustainability in apartments and townhouses. 

Apartment Sustainability Guides

We have developed a series of guides in partnership with Merri-bek City Council and the environmentally sustainable design experts at Hip v Hype to share information about making your apartment and apartment building more sustainable.

• Unlocking sustainable townhouses [ PDF, 624.52 KB]
• Unlocking sustainable low-rise apartments [ PDF, 625.35 KB]
• Unlocking sustainable mid-rise apartments [ PDF, 789.25 KB]
• Unlocking sustainable high-rise apartments [ PDF, 1009.13 KB]

Watch this video to get an introduction to Yarra Energy Foundation's Guide to Solar for Apartments and learn more about available options for solar powered apartments and townhouses.