Read our new Electric Homes and Vehicles report
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."
When Mike Casey bought his house near Cromwell, it came with gas bottles on the side of the home for water and an expensive diesel system for the underfloor heating. He replaced both of them with a Steibel Eltron system and it's been saving him money ever since. As technical manager Bhawesh Singh told him at the Electrify Queenstown conference, there has been a big influx in enquiries from homes looking to get off the molecules and onto electrons.
Read moreDownloadConfidence that cutting regulations to make solar power more accessible - won't jeopardise people's safety. A new Regulation Ministry reports laid out a potential blueprint to legalise plug-in solar and reduce the time and cost of panel installation. Rewiring Aotearoa CEO Mike Casey shares his thoughts with Andrew Dickens.
The burgeoning demand for solar was also a chance to address a mismatch between the numbers of training opportunities available and young people searching for work, Casey said. "The mums of New Zealand are telling me that there's not enough apprenticeships for their kids and the solar installers of New Zealand are telling me there's not enough trained people."
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