<
https://onestepoffthegrid.com.au/switch-to-electric-heat-pump-heating-and-avoid-freezing-with-gas/>
"Victoria has a gas problem. Happily, Victorians can save a lot of money by
getting their homes off gas.
I used to work in the fossil gas industry. I’d board a helicopter in Sale and
fly to the oil and gas platforms out in the Bass Strait. Those massive
hydrocarbon reservoirs were discovered starting in the late 1960’s. The
explorers looked down and thought “there’s enough gas here to run an entire
state for the next sixty years”. That was fifty-six years ago.
Victorian production of fossil gas is on its last legs. There have been no big
finds in decades. Yes, there was a recent announcement that the Victorian
government approved some further drilling by Beach Energy in the Otway Basin.
But it’s rats and mice really. When that project comes on stream, the Beach
Energy project will be able to supply about 2 per cent of Victoria’s
traditional gas demand.
If we Victorians continue to burn gas at the rate we’ve become accustomed to
over the last 56 years, the gas we burn will be coming from farther and farther
away.
It will be coal seam gas coming down the pipelines from Queensland. It will be
liquefied gas carried by ship into Geelong that might even come from Russia –
who knows? What we do know is that cheap Victorian gas is long gone.
More fossil gas coming into production anywhere on our Earth means more global
climate catastrophe. Far away, people are dying in 53°C heat.
Closer to home, our ski fields are scant and our coastlines crumble. So it’s a
good thing that the Victorian fossil gas industry is winding down.
But I understand if, this month, planetary collapse isn’t on your household’s
radar. What’s on people’s radar is the cost of living. I’ve been in homes where
they’re spending $25 per day on gas heating.
Why am I in those homes? To let people in on a secret. You can heat your home
with a reverse-cycle air conditioner for around one-third the cost of burning
gas. If those homes already have an air con, they can start saving more than
$15 per day, immediately.
And if your home is poorly insulated and draughty, there can be other low-cost
fixes to reduce your heating bill by even more."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
