Flinders University · Research project
EcoH2ome
A Flinders University research project investigating how Australian homes can be designed, retrofitted and operated for a hydrogen-ready, low-carbon future.
About the project
What we are working on
EcoH2ome is a research project at Flinders University examining how residential buildings can be adapted for a hydrogen-ready, low-carbon energy system — technically, economically and socially.
Residential energy use accounts for a substantial share of national emissions, and the buildings standing today will still be standing well past the target dates set by current climate policy. Decisions made now about appliances, distribution infrastructure and building fabric therefore lock in outcomes for decades. This project asks what those decisions should look like if hydrogen becomes part of the domestic energy mix — and what should be done regardless of whether it does.
Read the full project backgroundProject objectives
- Characterise the technical requirements for hydrogen-ready residential energy systems in the Australian context.
- Evaluate the whole-of-life carbon and cost implications of retrofit versus new-build pathways.
- Understand household attitudes, adoption barriers and behavioural responses to domestic hydrogen.
- Translate findings into practical guidance for industry, regulators and homeowners.
Research areas
Four connected strands
The project runs as four workstreams that share data and feed a single set of recommendations.
- 01
Building systems
Appliance compatibility, distribution safety, and the fabric upgrades that determine whether a hydrogen-ready home actually performs.
- 02
Techno-economics
Lifecycle cost and carbon accounting across retrofit and new-build pathways, under a range of energy price and policy scenarios.
- 03
Households and adoption
How residents understand, trust and interact with domestic hydrogen systems, and what that implies for deployment.
- 04
Policy translation
Turning results into standards input, regulatory submissions and practical guidance for the people who build and buy homes.
Updates
Latest news
No news yet
Project updates will be published here as the work progresses.
Get in touch
We welcome enquiries from researchers, industry partners and policy makers working on residential decarbonisation.