- cross-posted to:
- environment@aussie.zone
cross-posted from: https://aussie.zone/post/1305841
TL;DR: Tip 1 – Find trusted, independent information, Tip 2 – Plan your approach, Tip 3 – Access available rebates and resources, Tip 4 – Wait for a sale or negotiate a better deal, Tip 5 – Know the issues.
If you’re contemplating upgrading gas appliances in your home, or even disconnecting from the gas network altogether, here are a few handy tips and resources to cut through the confusion.
You will avoid ongoing fixed gas supply charges once you disconnect from the gas network, but you may be required to pay an “Abolishment fee” for permanent disconnection.
Just stop using gas appliances in favour of existing electric appliances that do the same job, such as a reverse cycle air conditioner for space heating.
Undertaking a wider energy retrofit may mean you can buy a smaller, cheaper reverse cycle air conditioner when replacing gas heating.
Many of us have grown up with gas in our homes and when one appliance breaks, the easiest thing to do is replace like-for-like.
I bought an expensive induction stove secondhand (so it was cheap), cost a few hundred bucks to get it wired in since at full power they generate a ridiculous amount of heat and a conventional electric cooktop/oven circuit won’t cut it.
It boils water much faster than a gas stove - it’s not even close. It also changes temperature quicker than gas (which has residual heat in all the metal), and the temperature can go extremely low too. The lowest setting is basically the same as if you held the pot in your hands - it will eventually heat up to body temperature. Pretty awesome for keeping food warm after it’s finished cooking.
The temperature changes much more quickly than gas, and it’s easy to clean, and you can use the cooktop as part of your kitchen bench when you’re not cooking. I love induction.
Electric hot water heater is great - costs basically nothing to heat during the day (it’s on a timer, only heats when the sun is high, so even on an overcast day the panels produce enough power to heat the water). There’s an override switch to make it heat outside of hours if we have family visiting and need more hot water overnight. Before we had solar, the hot water heater was about a third of our electricity bill. Now it’s basically non-existent. We use a lot more hot water now, for washing laundry/etc.