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Planning backup power into a villa renovation

Old villas and bungalows are beautiful, draughty and often wired decades ago. When the walls are open and the switchboard is coming out anyway, backup power is far easier to plan.

Why the renovation is the moment

A villa reno usually means a full rewire, a new switchboard, a heat pump or two, insulation under the floor and in the ceiling, and a modern kitchen that draws far more than the old one ever did. Splitting circuits and planning where an inverter and battery will live costs little when the electrician is already there. Doing it after the plasterboard is up and the paint is dry means chasing walls you just finished.

What it would keep running

  • New heat pumps and induction cooking
  • Heat pump hot water cylinder
  • Rewired lighting circuits
  • Kitchen, laundry and dryer

Old houses, modern loads

An insulated villa with heat pumps, an induction hob, a wall oven, a heat pump hot water cylinder and a dryer is a very different load from the one it was built for. The system is designed for 15 kW continuous with headroom for peaks, which covers an average home. A big villa with several heat pumps, a spa and an EV charger all running at once would be sized carefully in the pilot rather than assumed to fit.

The battery and inverter run in UPS mode, so nothing resets when the grid drops. The heat pumps, the induction hob and the new lighting circuits carry on through an outage, and the old villa finally feels as solid as it looks from the street.

How it works →
The H2OME loop: an electrolyser splits water into hydrogen, the hydrogen is stored in a tank for weeks, a fuel cell turns it into electricity for your home, and the water returns to the loop.

Where it goes on a villa section

Villa sections are often narrow, with the house close to the boundary. The hydrogen store sits outside at 30 bar or less, with redundant leak sensors, automatic shutdown and venting, designed to AS/NZS 60079 and ISO 19880, so it needs a sensible spot, not just the first gap behind the garage. Heritage rules or character overlays may affect what can go where, so check with your council before committing to a location.

Questions

Should I plan this before rewiring?

Yes, if you can. Planning circuits, the switchboard and where the inverter and battery will sit is much easier while the walls are open. Pilot planning would cover the layout with your electrician.

Does a character overlay stop me installing it?

It may affect where equipment can sit on the section or how visible it is. Check with your council about your property's rules before choosing a spot. The pilot would plan placement around them.

Will it run a fully modernised villa?

It is designed for 15 kW continuous output, enough for an average home with headroom. Very large villas with several big loads at once would be sized in the pilot, and a larger setup may be needed.

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