Around 40 minutes north of Melbourne, in the quiet suburb of Wollert, is a home that’s running on a whole different model of energy. The HyHome is an initiative of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), which wanted to test and showcase the idea that a household could run on hydrogen instead of natural gas.
This is important because hydrogen offers an alternative energy source to reduce carbon emissions when heating and cooking in the home of the future.
A tour of Australia’s first hydrogen home
The first hydrogen home in Australia launched in July 2024 and has been running smoothly ever since. Instead of natural gas, 100% hydrogen is piped into the home to cook, heat water and warm the house. Hydrogen-compatible appliances make it possible to run all the traditional appliances.
In late November, AGIG hosted a livestreamed walkthrough of the HyHome, led by Robert Davis, Senior Engineer for Low Carbon Transition, and Michele Tanti, Senior Asset Management Engineer. During the tour, they provided an in-depth look at the home's inner workings and answered questions about its operation. Watch the video below, created by Australian company Plumbify, for an example of the AGIG HyHome walkthrough.
Hard to spot the differences
Looking around the HyHome, what’s most noticeable is that there’s not much to notice, “It’s sort of underwhelming because it’s no different,” says Davis. The continuous hot water service is very similar to the natural gas version, although the system is slightly larger. The barbeque is indistinguishable from a natural gas one and already available to buy in Australia.
There are a few differences when cooking with hydrogen, though, he adds, “Hydrogen differs in a few ways and one is how fast the flame travels – that’s why you get a pop when you turn it on. The other slight difference is that the flame doesn’t hold as much colour. Hydrogen is known to burn with a near invisible, pale blue flame, but the dust and salt in the air provides a little colour.”
The experience for the person cooking is almost identical, with perhaps a little less heat to the side of the flame, “Chefs and cooks say they’re really impressed with how well the heat transfers.”
Safety first throughout the development process
“Through the development of this project, safety was our first priority,” Davis says.
Just like natural gas, the hydrogen in the pipelines has been odourised to make it detectable. The cooktop meets Australian safety standards and is just as safe as a natural gas cooktop. The installation and inspection standards for all the appliances are the same as for natural gas appliances, so the HyHome is just as safe as any home with natural gas.
This is good news for homeowners who love instant hot water, premium gas cooking and rapid heating for their houses.
“Our customers tell us they want to continue with natural gas today and renewable gas in the future,” said Craig de Laine, AGIG CEO. “Moreover, our customers want to be able to choose how they heat their homes in the same way they do today.”
Hydrogen pipelines are already operating safely
We know that hydrogen pipelines can be a valuable asset to an economy; the USA already operates more than 2,500 km of hydrogen pipelines, and the EU has around 1,600 km. In Northern Ireland, more than 90% of equipment powered across industries and large businesses is already capable of using up to 20% of hydrogen, when blended with natural gas. In Australia, construction on the proposed Whyalla Hydrogen Pipeline has been approved as part of a ‘hydrogen valley’ in South Australia.
Here in Aotearoa, Clarus has a hydrogen blending pilot planned for this year which involves blending a small amount of hydrogen into the Firstgas pipeline to supply 14 homes in Te Horo.
To learn about how Clarus is supporting the transition to a net carbon neutral New Zealand, visit Future of Energy.