Plug In!: The Electrification Handbook

by Saul Griffith

Everything you need to know for your electrification journey by the bestselling author of The Big Switch
We all know that renewable energy is the future, but how can we ditch coal and gas in our own lives and homes? Plug In! is full of pro tips and essential information for your electrification journey.


Energy expert Saul Griffith, with help from some of his electrifying friends, covers the five big



Where you get your electricity



Hot water



House heat



Cooking



Transport




But wait, there's the new abundance agenda, all hail the tradie army, what to know about EVs – plus great graphics! Join the movement and electrify your world with Plug In!

251 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 17, 2025

About the author

Saul Griffith (born 1974) is an Australian American inventor. He is the founder or co-founder of seven companies, including Otherlab (where he is currently CEO), Makani Power, and Instructables.

Reviews

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Griffith argument is that the "transition to clean energy is far simple or than the media would have you think". For Griffith, the energy transition simply "means not buying any more fossil fuelled machines and buying electronic ones instead". Griffith throughout the book then goes through the five big machines that people have to buy. The purchasing decisions "determine about half of the average person’s carbon and methane emissions, and are as simple as which vehicle you drive and which appliances you use in your home".

Plug In! is effectively a user manual to the Big Switch. Griffith goes through each of the five big machines in your life. Griffith speaks about the questions to ask when buying the machines, the cost of the machines and the financing of the machines.

Plug In! does have some insightful passages. Firstly, Griffith plays attention to the fact that there is both climate and equity issues facing Australia. This is embedded into all of his analysis. Griffith concludes that “We really need two policy fronts in Australia: one to address climate change, and one to to address our increasing inequality. We can’t half-solve climate change, with only rich people able to afford the solutions". I found this a bit of a simplifcation because some of his electrification policy is trying to solve both of these problems. Secondly, I admire the extent of Griffiths entrepreneurism. Griffith hardly fisnohes a chapter without mentioning a company he owns and operates, has sold or has unsuccessfully launched. Griffiths commitments to building practical solutions is admirable and shows that he is a true believer.

However, as with the other Griffiths books I have read - The Big Switch and The Wires that Bind, Griffith does a significant amount of pack of the paper maths. This is not to say there is not extensive graphs and some calculation. It is to say he does a lot of rougher math in the question. This undercuts his analysis at times and makes it seem unscientific.

[Peter Gyongyosi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I were an Australian living in a single-family home having to drive a car everywhere, I’d give it five stars. As a European apartment dweller with great public transit options and access to an acceptable bike infrastructure, it’s not really for me. The book is clear about being a guide for that particular audience though, I don’t know why I thought there’d be some lessons that are transferable — there are very few.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Explains exactly and simply what we need to do to reduce our carbon emissions (and save money) by electrifying everything. The author acknowledges the many problems we will face along the way but offers many thoughtful suggestions to deal with these problems. Anyone can understand the author's straightforward explanations and appreciate his sense of humour.

[Emma Ferris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A practical, energising call to action. Narrow in focus - which adds to its clarity, but I think takes from its broad applicability. Not convinced by the critique mounted against efficiency, but behind the push for an electric future.