Has ‘Gas’ In The Home Had Its Day?
Back in the ‘old days’ it used to be a major selling point that your 70’s flat had gas connected and a gas cooktop burner. Technology was lagging and everyone hated the electric hot plates that took forever to heat up and cool down. Even that pesky hot water system that ran out too quickly or dodgy wall heater that contributed to 95% of the electricity bills.
Well times are a changin’!
Climate change is on everyone's mind (hopefully!), and that includes Australia's household consumption of ‘natural’ gas. Over five million households in Australia are currently connected to natural gas… that’s almost half the homes in the country! (ref: energynetworks.com.au).
First off, what is natural gas?
Natural gas is a fossil fuel. It is formed in underground rock formations like sandstones, coal seams and shales. Humans use this gas as energy, and to make materials and chemicals. Natural gas is mainly made up of methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas.
In November 2021, a report by the Grattan Institute recommended that Australia bans new household natural gas connections.
Which leads us to the discussion around gas in properties. Is it a positive or negative?
It’s sort of like solar panels. Right now it won't make much of a difference to the sale price or appeal of the home, but everything is pointing towards gas being phased out over the next 20 years. For example, there used to be incentives for builders to install residential gas products in new properties, but this will be phased out by the end of 2023.
Interestingly, Victorians use more gas in their homes and businesses than people in any other state or territory and the fossil fuel contributes around 17 per cent to the state's net greenhouse gas emissions.
So what does the swap out look like around the house?
Cooking
Gas stovetops will be replaced by induction cooktops which many professional chefs would now say are better to cook on. Once an expensive appliance, now becoming much more affordable and the technology has come leaps and bounds!
For the uninitiated, induction cooktops are powered by an electromagnetic field that turns your saucepan into the heating element. Unlike gas, there is no flame and no knobs to fiddle with. It adjusts temperature quickly (as hard as that is to believe) and has a more even spread of heat. While it only works with a certain type of saucepan, it's a misconception that you'll need to buy an entire new set of saucepans – anything made from iron or stainless steel is fine, it's generally only copper-bottomed, aluminium and other non-ferrous pans that are unsuitable. (You can test your pots with a magnet, if the magnet sticks, they're good to go).
As the energy is supplied directly to the cooking instrument, it makes induction cooking 90-95% efficient compared with gas, in which about 35-65% of energy used is lost to the atmosphere, heating the kitchen.
In addition to the above, many are preferring it, as it is safer in general because of the lack of flame and fire hazard, and because of the flat smooth surface, it is much easier to clean!
Heating
For whole house heating the norm or preferred method of heating was usually the gas ducted heating.. But because of increasing gas prices, using electricity in a reverse cycle is more cost effective than gas nowadays.
Some depending on your preferences and your property, hydronic heating can actually be powered by either gas or electricity. So this can be another option to look at as well.
And lastly, Underfloor heating could be an option for you to consider. For this type of heating, electric wiring or water pipes are installed into the concrete floor slab. The slab is heated, using cheap off-peak electricity. It then releases the stored heat during the day, in a similar way to an off-peak storage heater. The substantial construction work required for this type of heating means it's more appropriately installed when a house is being built.
Here’s an interesting article from sustainability Victoria on choosing the right heating system for your home.
Hot water
The hot water bill contributes to around 25% of your overall energy bill, so it's important to give it some thought.
Gas systems have always been said to be more expensive upfront, but cheaper in the long run. They can run on natural gas or liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
So what are we using if it's not gas? There are 3 electric options:
Solar powered hot water systems
Heat pump hot water systems
Electric hot water systems
The above are ranked from most preferred substitute to least. And they all obviously come with pros and cons. While solar hot water systems can be significantly more expensive to purchase upfront, you’ll get that money back in the eventual energy savings and produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Solar hot water systems require sufficient roof space for the solar panels, and the heat of the sun.
Given that gas is a finite resource, we think that change in the use of gas needs to happen. But then if you change solely to electric, you don't want to be at the mercy of the electrical companies… So if you’re concerned about fossil fuels and your environmental impact, an electric system with solar panels may be the way to go. Solar battery technology is still developing and solar systems can be expensive so it’s worth contemplating now and putting on the 5-year plan!
In summary, we think gas may have had its day in residential houses by 2040.
Watch this space…
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