Highlights from A2EP's Commercial Building Electrification workshops and site tours in Melbourne and Sydney
- May 16
- 2 min read
Melbourne - 28 April 2026
Sydney - 5 May 2026
We had two fantastic days of site tours, presentations, discussions and networking to explore the topic of lowering heating hot water temperature to reduce capex and opex of heat pump solutions for decarbonising commercial buildings.
A central message emerging from the workshops and site tours is that heating hot water (HHW) testing is a critical enabler of successful heat pump retrofits. The case studies and site tours at RMIT Building 80 (Melbourne) and 200 George Street (Sydney), demonstrated that systematic testing can safely reduce required heating capacity by around 50% while also enabling a 15°C reduction in HHW supply temperature, significantly improving project feasibility, lowering capital cost and expanding viable technology options.
In Sydney, we also had the opportunity to visit Victoria Park Pool where a recent change from gas boilers to heat pumps for pool heating is delivering more consistent pool temperature and vastly reduced operating costs and carbon emissions.
Workshop presentations were delivered by:
Julian Sutherland , Head Sustainable Assets APAC, JLL
Michael Snow, National Technical Services Lead, Turner and Townsend
David Palin, Director ESG, Mirvac
Peter Haenke, Program Director – Commercial, A2EP on behalf of GPT
During the workshops, our presenters shared the following insights:
Market demand
Demand for electrified buildings in the premium commercial office market is already strong and continues to grow.
For many building owners, the main commercial drivers are tenant retention, lower vacancy and stronger face rents.
Current supply remains constrained, with Sydney estimated to be short approximately 49,000 sqm of electrified office floor space.
Melbourne is estimated to be short approximately 277,000 sqm of electrified office floor space.
Electrified assets were reported to show almost 8% lower vacancy and almost 25% higher face rents.
Heating hot water testing is key
Designing for lower HHW temperatures is key to unlocking smaller, lower-cost and more efficient heat pump solutions.
Testing involves progressively lowering the existing HHW supply temperature to identify and address building faults before committing to retrofit design.
Testing must be undertaken during winter to establish the building’s true peak heating demand.
Existing boiler-based systems are often over-designed, and heat pump capacity can often be reduced safely once actual demand is understood.
Thermal storage plays an important role in meeting short-term peaks and can further reduce required heat pump capacity.
Because every building behaves differently, testing is required to determine an optimised solution.
The resulting capital and operating cost reductions can materially improve whether a project proceeds.
Efficiency matters
Energy costs in a 5.5-star, 100% electric asset were reported to be 73% lower than in a 3.5-star asset with a 50/50 electric-gas mix.
HHW testing can also reveal broader efficiency opportunities, including:
Faulty valves and controls
Poor insulation and air tightness
Poorly controlled fresh-air strategies
Poorly located sensors
Blocked air-handling units
Thanks to the NSW Government and the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action for its support of the Sydney workshop.
If you are interested in learning more about A2EP's commercial building work, you can email Peter Haenke peter.haenke@a2ep.org.au.
