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RNZ's Eloise Gibson looked into the question of whether gas or electric appliances are cheaper and the evidence, as outlined in Rewiring Aotearoa's Electric Homes report, is pretty clear: even with the upfront costs of replacement and finance, running electric hot water, electric heating and electric cooking is much cheaper - and less toxic - than using fossil gas and it's cheaper still if you've got rooftop solar and batteries. It makes no economic sense for new homes to connect to gas in New Zealand and if your old gas appliance breaks down, it pays to make your next purchasing electric. "Compared with using piped gas heating, hot water, and cooking, a fully electric home could save almost $11,000 over 15 years for upfront costs and energy bills, the study found. Compared with using bottled LPG for heating, hot water, and cooking, a fully electric home could save almost $20,000 over the same period."
After ‘crunching the numbers’ and adding in new sources of ‘New Zealand-made energy’ to our equations, CEO Mike Casey has announced that Rewiring Aotearoa will be changing its name to Refuelling Aotearoa. There has been a huge amount of independently verified research showing electrification beats fossil fuels on economics, efficiency, emissions and energy security and that there is a huge opportunity for New Zealand to electrify, but the discovery of an infinite supply of snake oil in New Zealand has changed everything, he says.
Read moreDownload"We’ve got fuel prices climbing towards four dollars a litre. We’ve got global instability, supply lines under pressure, and once again New Zealand is sitting here — exposed. But what’s different this time…it’s the reaction."