Australians who ‘electrify everything’ could slash their living costs by up to $5000 a year – and reduce carbon emissions at the same time.
That’s the claim of Dr Saul Griffith, founder of Rewiring Australia.
“The future looks like vastly cheaper energy, better homes and nicer cars,” Dr Griffith says.
“No nation is better placed to seize this opportunity for cheaper energy, self-reliance and cleaner air than Australia.”
He says Australians already lead the world in harvesting solar electricity and now we have the technology available to use it. “With modest public investment in our homes, cars and communities, we can electrify everything without sacrificing our way of life,” he says.
The Castles & Cars: Savings in the suburbs through electrifying everything report uses data that predicts the cost of electric vehicles, appliances and batteries will drop dramatically in coming years.
It estimates that electrifying Australian households could reduce domestic emissions by up to 33 per cent by 2030.
Dr Griffith identifies four areas that are key for household electrification, the Australian Financial Review reports.
- increase adoption of solar and increase average rooftop solar size
- encourage widespread adoption of household batteries
- subsidise EVs and charging networks
- replace gas heaters, cooktops and gas water heaters with efficient devices such as induction hotplates and heat pumps through point of purchase rebates.
Many car makers have already announced plans to cease producing petrol-powered cars. These aren’t small brands either, with the likes of Ford, Honda, Jaguar and Volvo committing to producing an entirely electric line-up.
Our cousins across the ditch have even introduced a tax on petrol-powered vehicles. It’s seems only a matter of time before petrol vehicles are pushed out of the market.
Key areas to electrify
Inside our homes, many appliances are already electric. But there are three key areas where this is often not the case – gas stovetops, gas hot water heaters and gas heating systems.
Induction stovetops use a combination of electricity and magnets to produce heat that’s on par with what a gas stove can produce. They are far more energy-efficient than traditional electric and gas stovetops.
In the past, replacing your gas hot water heater with an electric model was seen as an inferior option. You were often left with a smaller supply of hot water that may or may not heat up again that day.
But electric hot water heaters have come a long way since then. Endless hot water is now the norm with instantaneous electric hot water systems. In these systems, water is drawn directly from the mains and heated instantly as it passes through the unit. No heated water stored in a tank means no more showers going cold.
It’s more than possible to replace gas-powered appliances and petrol-powered vehicles and retain the same quality of life. Add in the thousands in savings and emissions reductions and electrifying the nation seems like a good option.
Dr Griffith says the federal government should “turbocharge” its systems of subsidies and loans by allowing households to borrow money at the same price as the Commonwealth when it builds major infrastructure.
Case study
The ABC offered the following case study.
Pensioners Linda and Neville Hicks, who have lived in their public trust home for 27 years, had their home modernised to be a ‘virtual power plant’ with solar panels and a home battery.
“It has made a difference to us in regard to our power,” Ms Hicks told 7.30. “Our electricity bills are lower, which is a bonus for us. And also we’ve got the battery, which if we have power cuts, then obviously we won’t be without power.”
They said the changes involved no upfront costs, paid for by a combination of state and federal grants – because they are participants in a Tesla virtual power point trial, which also feeds power to the electricity grid.
Would you be interested in replacing your gas appliances with electric ones? Would you give up your petrol-powered car? Let us know in the comments section below.
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