Full home electrification sounds complicated. It isn’t. Here’s the proof. Adrian Hiel, Director of the Electrification Alliance, is electrifying his home in Brussels – live, on camera, with real costs and no filter. Episode 1 is the introduction. Fair warning: it’s a building site.
What does “electrifying your home” actually mean?
Adrian’s been asking himself this since 2015, when he first set the goal of electrifying his life by the end of 2025. He missed the deadline by a little bit. That’s okay.
In Adrian’s case, home electrification comes down to six things:
- A heat pump –> getting off gas and onto European energy
- Solar panels –> probably the best investment you can make in your home, full stop
- Electric transport –> be it with an electric bike that can, in a city like brussels get you anywhere in under 20 minutes or an EV.
- Insulation –> worth doing if you’re already having works done anyway
- A smart meter –> to balance your demand when energy is cheap, clean and abundant
- Induction cooking –> Adrian already made this switch, and he won’t be going back (especially with kids in the house)
That’s the steps so far. The process, once you know what you’re doing, is actually pretty straightforward.
Why now?
When Adrian first set his electrification goal in 2015, his motivation was squarely climate. Since then, the picture has changed a lot.
The costs have come down dramatically but the incentives have done nothing but rise. And the framing has shifted entirely: ten years ago the question was can I afford to do this at all? Today, Adrian is asking whether he can do it for free.
By free, the series aims to see if a combination of direct subsidies for improving the energy efficiency of the home (by installing a heat pump, solar and insulation), a reduction in the mortgage rate, and long-term energy bill reductions can make it so that a full electrification renovation can cost close to nothing net over time.
There’s also something simpler driving him. For most of the year, his solar panels will power his heating and his hot water. The alternative, piping in gas from Qatar to warm his shower, doesn’t sit well, especially not in a fossil fuel crisis. Better to keep that money in Europe. Better to keep it at home.
What’s to expect next?
Over the next 10 to 12 episodes, Adrian will walk through the full process – step by step, cost by cost. That includes:
- How to get quotes (and what to actually ask for)
- How to talk to contractors so you get what you need
- What the real prices look like
- And in detail episodes about specific clean tech
No fluff. And no vague estimates because all the prices will be given openly.
The next episode kicks things off with EPCs – energy performance certificates – a great (if imperfect) place to start when planning a renovation.
Have a question? Drop it in the comments on LinkedIn or YouTube, or get in touch with the Electrification Alliance directly. As Adrian puts it: we’ve got you covered.