Gas goneburger

Victoria is getting off the gas in the residential sector with the government announcing some good changes this week. 

This is the gist: 

• Phasing out gas hot water – From March 2027 only efficient electric hot water systems can be installed in Victorian homes. When an existing gas system reaches the end of its useful life, it will have to be replaced with an efficient electric one.
• New buildings to be all-electric – Already, new houses that require a planning permit must be all-electric. From January 2027 this will extend to all residential and commercial buildings (with a few logical exceptions such as large industrial facilities).
• Renters will get the right to live in efficient electric homes – From March 2027 landlords will have to begin providing decent insulation, draught-proofing, water saving showerheads, and efficient all-electric appliances for hot water, heating and air conditioning.

"This is good policy that will reduce protect households from volatile energy prices and help lower energy bills for renters," said Rewiring Australia. "Victoria is leading the way in showing what Australia’s all electric future looks like. Other states and territories, now it’s your turn!"

Here’s the response from Rewiring Australia’s Saul Griffith.

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We're not advocating for a ban in New Zealand, but we are trying to make sure everyone knows gas in homes is dumb. Paul Fuge from Consumer spoke to RNZ's The Detail podcast about gas and, as he said in a Linkedin post:

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Gas may be worse for the environment than electricity, but at least it's more expensive. Homes using gas are 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 expensive to run than those using just electricity. That’s not a slogan, it’s backed by multiple studies from the likes of Consumer NZ, Rewiring Aotearoa, EECA (Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), and others. So why are we still clinging to residential gas like it’s some kind of national treasure? It’s bad for the environment, costs more, and worsens indoor air quality.”

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A vehicle for progress

V2G has been on the horizon for a while and has been proven to work in a range of trials. Now it’s going mainstream and there was plenty of excitement this week about an announcement by Octopus, Zaptec and BYD in the UK. 

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Launching later this year, the PowerPack bundle means that one monthly payment will get customers: 

• A BYD Dolphin on lease, enabled with Vehicle-to-Grid technology
• A Zaptec Pro charger
• Guaranteed free home charging for your entire lease

Octopus says it will save up to £620 a year compared with charging at home on a standard variable home energy tariff and it smells like the future to us.

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We reckon the retailers that find a way to harness this new energy tech and make it easier for customers to use it will be the ones that win in the end. And we want the manufacturers to open this feature up in their cars in New Zealand, because it's one of the things we're getting asked about most (keep an eye out for an announcement about a trial in Queenstown soon).

Foot off the gas

If New Zealand is the Chatham Islands of the world, then Australia is probably Stewart Island. While the Aussies have a large natural gas industry, they are heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels and there isn’t a huge amount of it available if the boats don’t turn up. 

Whenever there is a geopolitical storm, like the war in the Middle East, this region's energy vulnerability becomes more apparent. But as anyone with an electric car knows, fuelling up with locally produced electrons is cheaper than relying on petrol or diesel. And, as this video from Rewiring Australia shows, if you’re running on the sun you can also feel satisfyingly self-sufficient.

Apples with apples

The EA has announced its new partner for the new and improved comparison and switching service.

Powerswitch has been a helpful tool for many and Consumer is to be commended for the work it has done to educate New Zealanders about the savings that are available if they switch plans or retailers, but the retail layer is not where the biggest savings can be found. That’s why we believe there is an opportunity to use the EA’s budget to create a tool that allows New Zealanders to compare energy sources, not just plans and retailers. 

New Zealanders are losing faith in the energy system as fast as they’re losing money. It’s about time we gave them clear information on how they can save money on energy, which includes swapping gas appliances to heat pumps that are four times more efficient, installing rooftop solar which is less than half the average grid electricity price, and investing in electric vehicles which use a quarter of the energy to go the same distance as a petrol vehicle, while saving thousands on fuel. These are the most important comparisons and the new tool that is scheduled to be launched later in the year and is being built by Daylight must include them.

As always, Marc Daalder is there to provide us with the intel on what that could mean and how AI could turn on your heatpump.

Suck it up

Avoiding the emissions in the first place - Ahem! Electric machines! Ahem! - is definitely a better strategy than trying to catch those emissions once they’re already in the sky. In Iceland, one carbon capture operation called Climeworks has been unable to break even on its own emissions let alone capture anyone else's. So while we’re staying open to the idea that the technology may play a role in the future, so far it’s been a bit of a letdown and we definitely shouldn’t be relying on it (or on foreign trees that may never be planted). 

Fortunately, someone on the internet has used this comparison as the inspiration for a beautiful dance.