Rat the Café is a business that has been keen to embrace many sustainability practices.
Rat the Café is part of Darebin’s WANGIM Cup program, recycle nearly all their waste and have been investing in energy efficiency and electrification for some time. This included installing an all-electric kitchen including induction cooktops.
Their last gas appliance to be switched off was a very old gas storage hot water system that was well past it’s intended design life. Upgrading this system to a heat pump reduced the likelihood of a hot water system failure, plus enabled them to cancel their gas supply, saving on connection and usage fees.
The cost to Rat the Café for this hot water upgrade after rebates was much less than the cost of replacing the existing system with another gas storage system, even though it required relocating it to the back yard for access to air for the heat pump. As the existing system was well past the age of expected failure, the paybacks on this upgrade could be considered positive from day one due to the savings on replacement costs.
Darebin’s Energy$mart program helped organise and subsidise the installation of the heat pump hot water system. Electrifying the business was important to Rat the Cafe. It delivered hot water at less cost than their old system and a healthier kitchen without gas.
View a short video about Rat the Café's Go Electric journey.
If you are a local Darebin business or organisation that wants to jump on board the all electric transition we can help you through our Energy$mart program. Energy$mart can help you upgrade to an efficient split system for heating and cooling and heat pump for hot water. Our program connects you to reputable installers and products, offers support and a rebate of up to $1,000 on top of other government subsidies. Find out more and register your interest online by completing our short sustainable business registration form below:
Sustainable business registration