What's different in Gungahlin
Built since 1991
Planning began in 1987 and Gungahlin launched as Canberra's fourth town in 1991. The Canberra Times reported it's free of Mr Fluffy, because it was built after the installer stopped work in about 1979.
Young households
The median age was 32 in 2021. 48.5% of homes were owned with a mortgage and 45.2% had four or more bedrooms.
Townhouses and units
20.5% of homes were townhouses or semis and 13.1% flats or apartments; 32.7% were rented. The light rail to Civic opened in April 2019.
The network is catching up
Evoenergy is laying new underground feeders from the Gold Creek zone substation to the town centre and Franklin, and expects a third transformer there by early 2028 to supply an additional 20,000 homes.
A battery down the road
Evoenergy has installed neighbourhood batteries in Casey, Dickson and Fadden.
Charging an EV at home
A normal power point charges slowly. A wall charger on its own circuit is faster, and for a home charger over 7 kW Evoenergy recommends upgrading from single to three phase power.
In the ACT, three phase starts with a basic design application to Evoenergy. Ask the electrician whether your board and the cable to the house can take it before you buy the charger.
Unit and townhouse owners have more say than they used to. Building managers and executive committees can't stop or restrict an EV charger without good reason, and since 27 September 2024 new multi-unit developments must be EV Ready to every unit's car space.
All-electric, and the board that feeds it
Induction cooking, a heat pump hot water system and reverse cycle heating all draw on the same switchboard. A newer board often has room for those, but an EV charger on top is where load management or three phase comes in.
Rooftop solar faces a 5 kVA per phase export limit across the ACT, so a three phase home can export more. Your solar installer lodges the connection through Evoenergy's DER portal.
The ACT Sustainable Household Scheme lists EV charging infrastructure as an eligible product for its low-interest loans. Check the scheme's own pages for who qualifies.
Our take for Gungahlin
If an EV is in your plans, we'd ask an electrician to size the board for the charger, induction and heating together, and to tell you straight whether three phase is worth it. Planning that once is much easier than finding the limit after the car arrives.
Want a specialist to sort it?
Tell us the job and your postcode. We match the licence-checked local electrician who does this kind of work, and they call you. No ring-around, and your number goes to them alone.