Im building a house and want to lower bills in the future, by having solar panels with battery and electric stove, basically eliminates the need for gas, right?
is that a thing?
any more tips to I need to do when buying first house?
thanks!
Building a House and want to be gas free, anymore tips in house to save money?
TheMoDz on 12/08/2020 - 22:50
Last edited 12/08/2020 - 23:01
Last edited 12/08/2020 - 23:01
Comments
yea, thats another solar with a water tank, right?
Like one of these also don’t forget to get an electric heater like a split system for example. You can also get electric stoves as well :)
yea, they're not too pricey.
@TheMoDz: If your house position/climate allows for it I'd recommend a solar hot water instead. They have electric boosters but you might not need it very much. (Depends if you're in Qld or Tas…)
If you get a heat pump hot water unit, you will not need solar hot water and can just place extra PV panels instead. Otherwise boosting your hotwater in winter can be very expensive.
I'd stay with gas instant hot water - on bottle to avoid connection costs, etc.
The cost and limitations of electric hot water don't IMO make much sense.
Gas for stove, oven and instant hot water. (I much prefer to cook with gas and wouldn't trade to electric stove for anything).
Electricity for everything else.
If you're super keen you can even make your own gas. Google "Biogas Generator"
I have an instant gas hot water system and I wouldn't trade it for anything. You could take a 24 hour hot shower no problem.
Why would you want to take a 24 hour long hot shower?
Relaxing. Napoleon would have hour long hot baths every single day. He'd have his footmen constantly bring over boiled water to add to the tub, to make sure it stayed hot throughout the whole time in there. To take a Napoleon style bath you'd have to keep draining some old water out and adding new hot water, so you'll want a capable hot water system. If you look like a lobster and the room is so thick with steam you can't even see the opposite wall, then you're doing it right.
So you want to be like Napoleon? 🤔🤦♂️
@John Kimble: Napoleon almost started an empire that would have still been ruling the world 'til this very day.
@AustriaBargain: Could have, would have, should have but didn't. Too much time spent procrastinating in the bathtub 🤣
If you look like a lobster and the room is so thick with steam you can't even see the opposite wall, then you're doing it right.
Pretty sure you'd be a shrivelled up lobster after a 24 hour bath…
heat pump
I feel sad for your meals, everything tastes better cooked on a gas stove compared to electric.
And those little blue flames gracefully dancing to the comforting hiss of the gas - there's nothing like it.
Induction cookers are more efficient in heat transfer and provide more than adequate temperatures for kitchen cooking. When slow cooking, they provide the ability to maintain a consistent heat setting.
Gas over induction clearly but it isn't quite as big a difference to feel sad over.
The reason why gas cooks better is because the pot heats up uniformly or close enough. Induction heats up a small area and sometimes, that small area isn't highly or uniformly ferritic.
You can get really good results with better pans and prewarming the pans. I leave my on low heat whilst I do the prep.
I've had both gas and induction, currently on gas, but next time I need to replace our stove I'll be going back to induction for sure. The low temperature capability of induction is great. It may not get quite as hot as the wok burner gas ring we currently have, but close enough that it makes little difference to me.
Yeah same I have a smeg induction and there's no way I'm going back to gas. My pots heat up super fast, it's a lot safer, easier to clean, greater control over temperature, timer can be set to turn off, warming settings, automatic sizing to match pot size… The only bad thing was I had to buy new pans and chuck some out. There's no difference in taste cooking with gas because your food doesn't come into contact with the actual gas..
I feel sad for your meals cooked like a primate over fire. Its about time you discovered induction.
Join the Facebook group My Efficient Electric Home - it’s Aus focused and you’ll learn everything you could possibly need to know about ditching gas and going electric.
I got banned from that group because a building designer wrote "I don't go full passive house and I get fabulous results" to which I replied "fabuous results" are subjective while passivehaus results are objective. I think she got a bit defensive…
To be fair, the good designers on there get the houses tested which do provide objective results.
I'd looking to passive house (passivehaus) if you're building.
Definitely this. The more you can use the sun and breeze to heat and cool your house the less your electricity will cost.
Passive House is commonly confused with Passive Solar. PH relies on insulation, airtightness and getting rid of thermal bridge. It doesn't rely on the sun as much as PS so solar access and orientation isn't as important as PS. It also uses mechanical ventilation vs cross ventilation.
Thanks. Wasn’t aware of the difference. Does a passive house require separate heating and ventilation from an energy source? I’d have thought that in Australia’s largely mild climate building a house that needs energy input for maintaining a pleasant climate might not be preferable to natural sunshine and breeze that cost absolutely zero.
@Euphemistic: Yes PH still requires heating/cooling but it should be minimal. The idea is that once a comfortable indoor air temp is reached via sunlight/heating/aircon the highlight airtight an insulated building envelope will maintain that air temp for a long time..like an esky. Another reason I like PH is that fresh air is brought into the house via a mechanical heat recovery ventilation system. This saves heating costs but also improves air quality as the incoming air filters out pollen and other airbourne particles. Good if you have hayfever.
@simonpieman: I guess it would be good if you suffer hay fever or live in a polluted environment. I’d much rather have open windows though!
@Euphemistic: Not to mention the extra cost associated with building a passivehaus (especially if it comes with formal credentials!)
@AncientWisdom: The whole idea is that costs up front reduce running costs.
Kinda like paying extra to get an electric car, but then saving on running costs ove it’s life. Costs you $10k more now, but you spend $5 on electricity to fill up or $100 on petrol. (Yes I know that’s oversimplified and the numbers are not correct)
@Euphemistic: Don't get me wrong, I just built a highly efficient house myself, I believe the extra cost is well worth it.
What I'm questioning is whether, in Australia with mild climate in most places, paying for a passivehaus (with certification) is ever going to pay off.
If I was set on a passivehaus, I'd probably look for a builder in the know and build one using the same principles, without certification but with testing at the end.@AncientWisdom: I’m with you. The significant up front costs might not make financial sense in a mild climate. Our gas heating costs are around $200 per year. Cooling is air conditioning a few days per year and ceiling fans regularly. Not a lot with solar panels on the roof.
@AncientWisdom: I'm in the early stages of planning an airtight build. From my research so far it shouldn't cost much more than a conventional build. You really have to find the right builder and architect/designer though. I guess I'll find out when soon…
Do you know how much a battery for solar costs?
However much it is it isn't worthwhile. Only start breaking even after the warranty on the battery expires
INSULATE.
we only use gas for cooking. and in a family of 6 and alot of home cooking, my gas bill over the 3 years hasn't been over $70 per quarter.
excluding supply charge i suppose?
nope… everything
what is your daily supply charge? A quick look at Sydney says around 50-65c per day looks standard on most plans
@Domingo: 66 cents with AGL.. but i also get a gas rebate because of pension and then a Direct Debit discount of 12% so before discount its around $95
Cooking uses very little gas in comparison to hot water or heating. Ducted gas heating is where gas bills really blow out.
I hope you have good insulation, double or tripple glazed windows as well to keep the house warm and cool.
Don't get a plain resistive electric hot water system. Get a heat pump hot water system instead. The former is not very efficient, it will use 1kWh of electricity to output 1kWh of heat whereas the latter is like a reverse air conditioning system where 1kWh of input can output 3-4kWh of heated water. If you're looking at solar hot water, the general consensus is that the roof space is better used for adding more solar PV panels instead where the electricity generated can be used by other appliances or feeding back into the grid rather than having a single use of heating water.
Also, electric stovetops are not very good to use. Instead, look into induction stovetops and make sure you get a good quality one with a good quality set of cookware. As mentioned earlier, poor cooktop and poor cookware might not have even heat distribution. The downside to having no gas though is that you can't use a wok and get the "wok hei" taste or you can't burn/char up aromatics over a flame for use in a stock but for me, I've got an outdoor BBQ unit to take care of those use cases.
I've recently changed from gas to induction absolutely love it. Easy to clean up as you can just wipe the cooktop down after use (no hobs/grates in the way that you have to remove first and also clean). Has better efficiency where more power goes into heating up your pots/pans rather than a flame wasting energy heating the surrounding air. Heats up way faster than a gas stove and can also be dialled down much lower to maintain a simmer (whereas previously with gas, even at the lowest setting, a pot with a lid on will be boiling away like mad). Also, a lot safer as there's no flame and the cooktop remains cool to touch.
Ignore the "Stick with Gas" comments. They are just justifying their purchase/ they don't really know better and are not really answering the OP's question.
I was in the same situation almost 2 years ago. Building a new house and didn't want rely on gas anymore. I believe I have made a successful transition due to input from more knowledgable OzB members which has saved me lots of money on electricity and gas bills. My PV system is on its way to be paid off in another 2 years (I'm in VIC and I didn't even get the Victorian rebate). My energy bill has been in credit since September last year when my PV system was up and running (I get feed-in tariffs)
Things to do:
- Go for an induction cooktop instead of ceramic/electric stove : IMHO cooking experience [Induction >Gas> Ceramic/Electric]
- Go for a heat pump HWS instead of the standard Electric HWS : The heat pump system cost will be reduced with STCs. The best thing about these are that you can program the time when you want water to be heated and stored in the tank. I set it to heat during noon when my PV panels are usually generating at its peak. The water in the tank stays hot till the next day when its heated up again.
- Investing in a battery today is not a good idea unless you plan on going off the grid. You may never get ROI
- I would suggest not getting solar water heating installed. It would be better to use that roof space for solar panels
- If you are going to have multiple split A/Cs or a reverse cycle ducted A/C system (MUCH better than Evaporative Systems IMHO), Induction cooktop and maybe an electric car/ plug-in hybrid car in the future; Consider upgrading to a 3 Phase power supply before your build starts.
- Upgrade wall and roof insulation in your house. This is really one of the best upgrades you can get for your house. Getting double/triple glazed windows is also good but I'm not sure the ROI time is worth the upfront cost (I still got it though).
Agree with the above
- In addition, add underfloor insulation to your slab — or just talk to your energy rating consultant about beefing up the requirements to meet 9+ stars.
- Keeping windows small helps too, especially on the South side — I would normally opt for 600-900wide x floor-to-ceiling height, except for places where you have an exceptional view of beach/garden/etc; better ventilation tradeoff from operable windows (min. 1 per room), while fixed windows are more energy efficient.
Make sure to get a electric hot water service as well :)