Quick answer: Many Melbourne homes can add one new electric appliance without changes, but older switchboards especially those with ceramic fuses or no safety switches often need upgrading before running a heat pump, induction cooktop and EV charger together. A licensed electrician can confirm your capacity with a switchboard and load assessment before you buy anything.
With Victoria’s electrification rules arriving from 2027, more households are swapping gas appliances for electric ones. What often gets missed in the planning: every one of those swaps adds electrical load, and your switchboard was sized for the home you had decades ago not the all-electric home you’re building towards.
Why Going Electric Changes Your Electrical Load
A gas hot water system, gas cooktop and petrol car draw nothing from your switchboard. Replace all three with electric alternatives and you’ve added several new circuits, often the largest loads in the house. Homes wired in the 1970s or 80s were never designed for this.
Signs your switchboard may be behind the times:
- Ceramic or rewireable fuses instead of circuit breakers
- No safety switches (RCDs), or only one covering the whole home
- No spare slots for new circuits
- Lights dimming when large appliances start
If any of these sound familiar, get the board assessed before committing to new appliances — not after the installer arrives. Our switchboard upgrade page covers what’s involved.
What Each Appliance Actually Needs
Heat Pump Hot Water
The good news first: heat pumps are the gentlest of the three. Most residential units draw far less power than the old electric storage tanks they replace, though they still typically need their own dedicated circuit. If you’re replacing gas hot water under the 2027 rules, this is usually the easiest electrical addition see our heat pump hot water options.
Induction Cooktop
Induction is a bigger step. A full-size cooktop generally requires its own high-capacity circuit often larger than anything else in the kitchen. If your kitchen only ever had a gas cooktop, that circuit doesn’t exist yet and needs to be run from the switchboard. This is where board capacity and spare slots start to matter. Our induction cooktop installation team handles both the disconnection and the new circuit.
EV Charger
A dedicated home charger is typically the largest single load you’ll add. On a standard single-phase supply, a 7kW charger can claim a substantial share of your home’s total capacity which is why chargers are often installed with load management, so charging slows automatically when the oven and hot water are running. Details on our EV charger page.
The Bigger Question: Your Mains Supply
Sometimes the switchboard is fine but the supply into the house isn’t. Older Melbourne homes on smaller single-phase connections can hit their ceiling once heat pump, induction and EV charging stack up. In those cases a mains upgrade or smart load management is the answer. An assessment tells you which, and the order to do things in so you’re not paying twice.
Because Darebin Trade Services is licensed across both gas and electrical work, the gas disconnection and the electrical upgrade happen under one roof one company, one plan, no coordination between separate trades.
FAQs
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Do I need a switchboard upgrade before getting a heat pump?
Often no, heat pumps are modest loads. But if your board has ceramic fuses or lacks safety switches, upgrade it regardless; it’s a safety issue independent of the heat pump.
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Can I run an EV charger on an old switchboard?
Usually not safely or compliantly. Most charger installations require a dedicated circuit, protection, and available capacity that older boards can’t provide.
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How do I find out my home’s electrical capacity?
A licensed electrician performs a load assessment checking your supply size, existing circuits and board condition. It’s the first step before any electrification plan.
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Will going all-electric overload my supply?
Not if it’s planned. Load management, appliance staging and, where needed, a mains upgrade keep everything within capacity.
Plan the Switch Before You Buy the Appliance
The cheapest time to discover a capacity problem is before installation day. Book a switchboard and electrical capacity assessment with Darebin Trade Services call (03) 9463 1555 or request a quote and go electric on your terms.
