For people like me that don’t know Australia:
Victoria is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state, with a land area of 227,444 km2 (87,817 sq mi); the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 6.7 million;[3] and the most densely populated state[9] in Australia (29 per km2). Vict
Question for locals: do you need gas connections?
Side question: do you have fireplaces, gas or otherwise?
I’m curious about this as well. The climate there can easily support efficient electric heat sources (heat pump) in the cold season. Gas ranges/hobs are nice but induction is pretty good now.
I’ve just replaced a gas stove with induction. It’s far better than the gas stove was and I never want to go back.
Also replaced the gas water heater with a heat pump. The gas bill went way down, and the electricity bill didn’t go up.
Is the heat pump system continuous/unlimited, or tank-based? I have enjoyed the luxury of never running out of hot water on gas, but weighed against squandering a finite resource and/or destroying the planet it’s hardly a necessity for our two-person household.
As for cooking, I’ve heard nothing but good things about modern induction setups and a rapidly growing body of research highlighting the toxic byproducts of gas stoves/ovens - even when turned off - due to inevitable leaks from imperfect seals and aging equipment.
The last big argument for gas cooking seems to be wok burners, but I just did a quick google and not only is wok induction a thing now, but it looks sci-fi af so I’m here for it. They’re not cheap yet, but I imagine that’s only a matter of time as adoption picks up.
The heat pump uses a 315L tank. The heat pump only runs during the day, so we either have enough solar power to run it, or cheaper electricity at that time.
We have run out of hot water a few times, but with even minimal planning it’s not really a problem.
We decided to get a split heat pump and tank (rather than an integrated system) as they tend to be quieter and more efficient. It’s barely audible when standing next to it, and provides a great place to sit in summer.
Good to know, thanks! Renting atm so we’re stuck with whatever we have for now, but I’m keeping a list of nice-to-haves when we eventually buy our own place.
