Build all-electric homes on the supply you've already got.
When a home nears its 63A limit, the Basis Board puts low-priority circuits like hot water and EV charging on standby, then switches them back on when there's room. No supply upgrade, no extra hardware, and the main switch doesn't trip.
Whole-home load
59 A of 63 A supply
- EV charger24 AOn
- Oven13 AOn
- Heat pump9 AOn
- Other circuits13 AOn
- Hot water15 AStandby
The challenge
All-electric homes are outgrowing their connection.
- Calculated demand for a modern all-electric home1
- 80A
- The single-phase supply most homes actually have. If it's exceeded, the main switch trips and the whole home goes dark.
- 63A
- Sampled homes that would have needed to pause a circuit at a 60A limit2
- 1 in 51
Calculated demand assumes everything runs at once. Real peaks are rare and short, so managing them costs far less than upgrading for them.
Compare
Three ways to handle the extra load.
You could pay for more supply, fit a separate load controller, or use the switchboard you were installing anyway.
| Compare | Upgrade the supply | Add a load controller | Basis Board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per home | $3,250–$9,900 lines-company contribution, before civils and labour 3 | Extra device, wiring and install time | Built into the board |
| Extra hardware | New service feed, sometimes a transformer | Controller, contactors and current sensors | None. Every circuit is already measured and switchable. |
| Loads it manages | Not applicable | Usually one or two dedicated loads | Any circuit in the board, in your chosen order |
| Homeowner sees why | Not applicable | Rarely | Yes, in the Home App |
| Changing it later | A new application and quote | A site visit | Remotely, by Basis support |
How it works
Your electrician picks the order. The Board does the rest.
- 01WatchMeasures the current on every circuit, all the time, and how close the home is to its limit.
- 02PauseOn a sustained overload, puts the first circuit in the list on standby, then the next if needed.
- 03WaitKeeps paused circuits off for at least a few minutes, which protects appliances like heat pumps from being switched on and off too often.
- 04RestoreBrings circuits back one at a time, in reverse order, once there's room.
Try it. Turn things on.
InteractiveTap any circuit to switch it on or off, and watch what the Board does.
Whole-home load with Basis
31A
All good. 32A of headroom. Try turning on the ev charger.
A simplified illustration. The real Basis Board waits for a sustained overload before acting, keeps paused circuits off for a minimum time, and staggers restores so the load can settle.
See it in your development →Reliability
Decided on the board. No internet needed.
- Decisions are made on the Board in real time. The cloud only stores settings.
- Acts in seconds, with no round trip to a server.
- Settings stay with the circuit position if a module is replaced.
- Basis support can update settings remotely when a site needs it.
Every circuit
Measured continuously
Basis Board
Decides on the boardChecks the load against the limit and acts in seconds.
Over the limit
Hot water · standby
Room again
Restored in order
Basis cloud
Stores settings only
For developers & builders
Every lot all-electric. No supply upgrades.
Spec EV chargers, heat pumps and induction as standard, and keep each home on its existing 63A supply. Load limiting is part of the Basis Board, so there's nothing extra to buy, install or explain.
- Skip the supply upgrade on every lot
- Homeowners see why a circuit is paused, so you get fewer callbacks
- Your electrician sets the order at commissioning
- Basis support can see limiting activity and change settings remotely
Every lot on a 63A supply. No upgrades.
For electricians
Your order. Set up in minutes.
Turn on load limiting during commissioning in the Basis Trade App. We suggest an order based on your circuit labels. Drag to adjust it to the site, sync, and you're done. No internet connection needed.
- Suggested order from circuit labels: hot water, underfloor heating, towel rails, heaters, pool, spa, EV charger, air con
- Any configured circuit can be included. Leave essentials off the list.
- The order follows circuit position, so swapping a module won't break it
- Circuit pages show when a circuit is in the order, so you won't miss it when making changes
Paused first at the top. Restored in reverse.
- 1Hot water · C4
- 2Underfloor heating · C9
- 3Towel rail · C11
- 4EV charger · C2
- 5Heat pump · C6
For homeowners
Never wonder why it's off.
If a circuit is paused, the Basis Home App tells you which one, why, and what to switch off to get it back sooner. You can see your live load against your limit, and the full order your electrician set up.
- Clear standby status on every paused circuit
- Live amps for each circuit, so you can spot what's using the most
- Your priority order, with the names you already know
- Nothing to set up. It just works in the background.
Load limiting
Paused by load limiting. Your home is close to its 63A limit. Turning off something on another circuit, like the oven or dryer, will bring it back on sooner.
Biggest users right now
EV charger24A
Oven13A
Heat pump9A
Before load limiting, homeowners did this by hand.
“Now, with the Basis app I monitor my real-time use and set circuits to stand-by so my peak demand stays within my 63A capacity. Paying $4.5k for the Basis Board saved me $10k in a network upgrade I was being forced to do.”
James G.Homeowner, Tauranga
Now the Basis Board does it for you, automatically.
Good to know
Convenience, not protection.
Load limiting keeps your home running. Your main switch and circuit protection keep it safe. They do different jobs.
What load limiting does
Keeps the home's load under its limit by briefly pausing circuits you've agreed to, so the main switch rarely trips.
What it doesn't do
It doesn't replace the main switch or any protective device. Your electrician designs the installation, confirms it meets the wiring rules, and signs it off.
FAQ
Questions.
Most of the time, no. Load limiting only steps in when lots of appliances run at once. When it does, a low-priority circuit like hot water pauses for a few minutes and then comes back on by itself.
In many cases, yes. Instead of upgrading the supply, your electrician designs the installation to stay under the existing limit with load limiting, then confirms it meets the wiring rules for each site.
In the Basis Trade App during commissioning, after you've set up your circuits. Turn it on, review the suggested order, adjust it and sync. The settings are applied to the board over a local connection, so you don't need internet on site.
Connected to
Build on the supply you've got.
- Calculated demand for homes in a current Basis development, compared with a 63A single-phase main switch.
- Analysis of 51 randomly sampled Basis Boards in New Zealand, modelled at a 60A limit.
- Lines-company capital contribution from Unison and Powerco 2025/26 schedules. Excludes service feed, civils, switchboard and labour.
- Load limiting is not a protective device. Installations must meet AS/NZS 3000 and be certified by a licensed electrician.