In 2022, Sydney-based voice actor Sarah Aubrey decided to do something about her 115-year-old Federation home’s ‘freezing cold’ temperatures and exorbitant energy bills.

‘I actually got the house assessed by a residential efficiency scorecard assessor because I didn’t really know where to start,’ Sarah says in the new episode of TDF Talks.

The rating was 2.9 stars out of 10. Determined to improve this abysmal figure, she joined the popular Facebook group My Efficient Electric Home and threw herself into research. Just a few months later, she’d brought it up to a 10-star rating, and has been encouraging others to do the same ever since!

What changes she made (and how much they cost)

The primary focus was changing her gas appliances to electric. This included getting an induction stove, a hot water heat pump, and installing split-system air-conditioning units that could both heat and cool the home.

The split system units were the biggest expense, setting her back about $10,000, and adding solar panels to her roof cost about $5000. But there were plenty of cheaper updates that made a big difference to stabilise the home’s temperature, like draught proofing, which Sarah learnt to do herself by watching YouTube videos!

The astonishing savings of going all-electric

Before the renovation, Sarah and her partner were spending about $1000 a year on gas bills alone. That’s now money in their pocket thanks to the efficiency of electric appliances and solar panels, which means they’re already earning back the investment it cost to complete the updates.

‘The heat pump is pretty much covered by the solar, so it’s free hot water from now on. And we have set this house up now for another a hundred years,’ she adds.

How trolls inspire her to keep educating others

She started her Instagram account in December 2023, posting videos about going all-electric and her research into electric vehicles — reporting her learnings in a simple, easy-to-understand way. Within the first month, trolls had found her account and flooded her comments with misinformation about climate change, but this engagement only helped Sarah’s content reach viral heights!

‘It’s just short, shareable, positive content about decarbonisation and electrification — somehow that is dangerous. I find it astonishing and wildly fascinating. The point of my Instagram is just to help people make informed decisions. I genuinely want to help people save money and learn about this stuff.’

Why you should invest in an electric vehicle

Sarah is especially passionate about dispelling misinformation on electric vehicles, having been taking test drives of different models and reviewing them over on Instagram. She even created a series called ‘Ask An EV Owner’ in response to the negative discourse about electric cars. ‘I just figured, let’s actually hear from the people who own the cars. One guy’s got a 15-year-old Mitsubishi and it’s still on its original battery,’ she adds.  The average Australian only drives 38km a day, and the average EV charge can travel about 400km on a single charge.

‘When you look at the overall lifespan, electric cars are way better for the environment. And if you have solar and you have somewhere to park at home, owning an electric car is an absolute no-brainer.’

Follow Sarah on Instagram @electrify_this, or find her on TikTok and YouTube.

This episode of TDF Talks is brought to you by Momentum Energy. Listen to the full episode below, or find TDF Talks on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.