Explore your Options
Where does your energy (and money!) go now? The pie chart below shows what the average breakup is for energy use in Australian homes.
Electric Heating
It’s clear that most energy goes into keeping our homes at a comfortable temperature so it makes sense to start here. In the past it was a great idea to have gas appliances for heating, but now days there are better electric heaters that are cheaper and greener to run – especially if you already have rooftop solar. You can simply swap out or remove the existing gas heater and replace it with an energy efficient heat-pump system. If you did nothing else, this would probably make the most impact to your bills and comfort.
Don’t forget to thing about simple but effective things like gap sealing, curtains and closing doors which can reduce energy consumption. Effective but more difficult or expensive upgrades include insulation and double glazing, but we’d recommend contacting us for advice on these options.
Water Heating
Gas can be used to heat water in two ways, instantaneously where water is heated by a gas flame as you use it, and in a storage system which is basically a big kettle. Instant gas water heaters used to be more energy efficient than electric systems until heat pump technology came along. Heat pump Hot Water Systems use about 1/3 of the electricity as an old-style electric element system which makes them competitive with gas from both a cost and emissions perspective.
If you electrify your space heating and hot water, those two items alone will make a big difference to your bills.
Cooking
Cooking uses lots of energy but only for a short amount of the day. That’s why it only represents a few percent of your total bill. Getting off gas for cooking really comes down to a health and lifestyle choice but also, some green loans will require you to disconnect from gas, so that might end up being the main reason to electrify your cooking.
