The financial part of the article is why we’re seeing extensive adoption in rural locations, where people depend on propane, but not in urban areas which are hooked up to the methane distribution system. Getting universal adoption is going to require making electricity cheap and providing support for the appliance switch itself.
My mother used gas stove tops her whole life. My dad has quite a bit of climate concern, and he convinced her to go to electric induction (after many years of argument, mind you).
3 years later, and neither of them would ever cook on gas again. Mum cannot believe how truly efficient electric induction heating is, and combined with their new solar panels, the only bill they’ve had to maintain since 2023 is the internet.
I think in Australia, there’s a bit of a stigma against electric cooking, because in the 70s, 80s, electric cooking was achieved with really slow, inefficient resistance coils. I would submit that there will be an even greater acceptance of electric cooking once the older generation get the opportunity to try induction.
I’d convert to induction straight away if it were easy and cheap, but you need to have an electrician run a separate mains voltage cable to the cooktop. Having single brick walls inside basically means you wait until you’re ready to remodel the whole kitchen.
Meanwhile, industrial emissions go brrrrrrrrrrrrr.
As a rule of thumb, I feel like replacing things as I normally would, but making sure I replace them with the most environmentally friendly option is the only thing that’s financially sustainable.
Change needs to happen at scale, not from one person suddenly buying a new car, cooker, heater, fireplace all in one go. That said, if your replacing a cooker, choosing an induction hob is an absolute no brainer.
As an aside:
If your dryer runs on gas, consider air-drying your clothes.
What? I’m in the UK and a gas fuel clothes dryer sounds absolutely mental. Have I missed something?
I’ve been thinking about this. My house came with gas when I bought it. If I switch to full electric, what happens to my gas line? Does the gas company just say “ok, no problem, we’ll stop supplying gas to your line”? I imagine as long as the gas line exists, they have to maintain it, hence will continue to charge me. Right now I’m paying around $50 per month but when you break down the bill, the actual gas used is less than $5, and the rest are fees (which I assume some of it is for maintenance).
I highly doubt you would have to pay anything if you cancel your service. I’ve never heard of anything like that around here, but rules can vary from place to place. You could find out with a call to the gas company though.
I imagine they would shut it off from the street, and your lines wouldn’t have any gas in them.
Right, but the line that they had to lay in plus the digging was on their dime. Would they just be ok to leave that infrastructure there knowing nobody is paying for it? Obviously I should just go and ask, but I’m just thinking out loud. I guess they can bet on the homeowner not living there forever and hope the next resident will want to re-instate gas.
well that infrastructure is a sunk cost, and maintaining it is gonna be a huge problem as fewer and fewer users have gas in the coming decades https://heatmap.news/ideas/la-fires-natural-gas
In my state, the gas company charges the property owner installation fees on installing a gas line to the property.
So they’re not really out much if a homeowner changes their mind.
That’s a good point. I live in a new neighborhood, so the builder likely paid the gas company to set up all the gas lines.
Yeah, and while the gas company probably doesn’t charge full price for the installation, they make their money back pretty quickly, so it all comes out in the wash anyways.
You just get it capped off, and the money you’ll save on your homeowners insurance will more than pay for any fees that have for doing so.
I’ve never considered that angle. I’m guessing it’s from lower risk of gas explosion. what’s the savings like?
Whoa. What? Having gas appliances increases insurance? I’ve never been asked if my home has gas appliances by an insurance company.
In Australia I went through a process called homing the meter where the gas company comes out and digs a hole in the nature strip (verge) in front of the house and turns off the lever connecting my house to the gas main line. They were going to try a simple capping of the pipes where the meter was removed but the pipes were old and leaky (soap test) so they needed to dig up the switch.
You can have the line capped off
I live in a place with no gas connection. Used to be a big negative for the complex but I was happy to not have it. Association does not allow gas or charcoal grills either. feels safer.
Electric heaters are cheap. And bonus: electricity is a whole lot cheaper than gas. At least out here.
A quick overview of prices I’d expect to see based on what I’ve got. (prices in euros)
20 for a stove 150 for an oven 80 for an airfryer 400 for a clothes dryer 200 for a sizable electric room heater 300 for a shower heater (this one I don’t own, I went with the first option on google)
All just plug into the wall and work. Obviously you shouldn’t plug them all on the same power group tho. Some of these might not be as easy on 120 volt sockets either
I grew up with a gas stove but only have had electric for almost 20 years now. I love electric. It’s so much more even baking, no worries about cold spots. The burners run a bit hot, but I’ll just turn the burner off and let it run on the leftover heat for a bit. And I’m not as scared about gas leaks!
What do I do with my gas fireplace? Anything I can do to make that useful if I go gas free? It’s kind of awkward to just have it exist there without purpose.
Yes!
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You can obviously get rid of it and board it up, but even with no fire, you can make a feature of it if you tile it nicely.
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Other fireplaces exist such as artificial electric ones, log fires and biofuel ones. Those all have their own emissions and benefits.
I live in the UK and did 1 a while back, we have candles in the space and a nice wooden mantelpiece. One thing I didn’t expect is how much warmer the house now is. We obviously can’t turn a fire on for heat, but when it’s not on, not having heat pouring out the chimney makes a big difference.
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Depends if it was built originally as a gas fireplace. If it was converted from a wood burning fireplace to gas, it can be converted back.
You could also remove it completely and turn the space into a secret storage room!
It was built as gas, unfortunately. That is an interesting idea though. Secret compartment!
y’all are still using gas stoves? maybe they’re just not popular where I’m from.
