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Weaning yourself off gas - getting it disconnected. Anyone done it?

unkel

It's been a long term personal goal to move away from fossil fuels and go electric only. Main family car has been an EV for over 5 years. Now the second car is also an EV.

I've had 40 solar thermal tubes for 6 years. I have increasingly bigger solar PV over the last 5 years, at the moment about 10kW, plan to eventually end up with 15kW - that will have every square meter of roof and surface plastered with panels. Have 10kWh powerwall, to be doubled in the next few weeks

The house is a semi-d in a Dublin suburb, built in 2000 to poor standards but plenty of insulation upgrades done, main one still to be done is upgrade all windows

Last winter, a mild winter I know, I heated my house with 2 crypto mining rigs. Nothing else. I will eventually replace these with 2 mini-split air to air systems. I have just switched off my gas boiler (9 year old efficient condensing boiler) as I will heat my water purely with electricity from now on too. I have a gas hob that I will replace with an induction hob. Only thing remaining is the gas fire in the fireplace, which is mostly for ambience (herself likes it) but it's a major waste of energy with heat just disappearing up the chimney

My gas contract finishes in early July. Contemplating having my gas connection cut off permanently and not renewing my contract. Anyone done this? Thoughts?

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con747

Has anyone gone down the Infrared heating route with solar. Looking at doing something for the winter to get away from oil.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119115197#Comment_119115197

I am not doom and gloom at all, just don't think its a good idea to have all your baskets in the one egg. There is loads more potential for connecting anaerobic digesters to the gas network and someone will figure out how to harvest those pesky methane clathrates at some stage. I doubt anyone who has a heat pump is using serious amounts of gas but it's good to still have the option as a backup.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119115633#Comment_119115633

I admire your optimism but I'm not holding my breath to see anyone who didn't just emerge from a Gulfstream V from New York getting generous compensation in the land of the 0c feed-in tariff

bullit_dodger

So I've a gas hob. Like unkel interested in weening myself off gas. Not ready for the "full Mc Coy" of electric heating yet, but thinking of induction hob. What are the disadvantages with the induction hob system. Obviously I get the advantages (no fossil fuels being burnt), but I'm keen on learning from people who have one the things that they've noticed they can't or struggle with over gas. I'm not a Michelin chef but I can fry an egg :-)

Anyone out there done this swap already ?

championc

I'm at this point too. The hob should be an easy enough replacement item, as I believe it's almost as controlable as gas.

I'm certainly not replacing my home heating any time soon. I'd want to insulate under my whole downstairs floorboards before even considering looking at electric options

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119116363#Comment_119116363

The disadvantage is that most but not all of them have touch screen controls and those don't respond very well if something boils over and they are slightly finnicky in general (you hae to select the ring you want to change the setting on first, then change the setting. bit more awkard than a twist knob)

Other than that there is nothing wrong with them. Your kitchen won't get that sticky residue the gas leaves behind. If I was buying an induction hob I'd seek one out that doesn't rely on touch controls though

magicbastarder

one of the disadvantages of induction hobs would be that you may need to replace some of your pots or pans.

they're much more energy efficient than other electric options AFAIK as there's no energy 'wasted' in that all the energy the hob puts out goes into the metal of the pan; also, they're easy to clean too as the hob itself never gets as hot as it would with another electric hob - the hob ends up being heated by the pots sitting on it, rather than vice versa.

as Ubbiquittous mentioned, the touch controls are more finicky than just being able to grab a knob and turn it; but with an induction hob, if you lift the pan off the ring, it will automatically kill that ring anyway.

THE ALM

Interesting discussion and, like unkel, one we are having in our house although replacing oil and an insert solid fuel stove.

Boiler could really do with being replaced and we are looking at a small pellet stove for the living area come the winter months.

House is B2 rated and we are currently pricing replacing the doors and windows (not a great time to be pricing anything at the minute) as those installed are poor enough from a thermal/airtightness point of view and are the biggest issue for us at the minute and one we feel will make the most difference for our quality of life, walls pumped with walltite and attic insulation I have topped up recently so those are good.

Once the windows/doors are done it is then the heating side of things and what road we go down. UFH is not an option so am wary of heat pumps so we have also been looking at some of the options listed here as well as mhrv system which should bring us into A rated territory, windows alone will hit B1.

Not averse to diy and as it is a bungalow access is good so running pipework etc. is more straight forward than most. If that electicQ unit linked by SD_DRACULA could have the pipework fed in from above it would be an interesting proposition and make installation a lot handier for us.

Have plenty of outdoor space so upping the solar pv and adding a east facing ground mount system is on the list to make use of the early morning production and hopefully giving us good generation to run what ever we decide for the heating.

cuculainn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119116363#Comment_119116363

I think this will be the last thing I change out.......Induction hobs (that I have tried) are awful if you are used to gas hobs.....and dont even get me started on the touch controls........

the major advantage of induction hobs is how easy they are to clean, as they are flat.

The cost of a 37kg bottle of butane that lasts me about 3 years is still only 150 quid.....

hayse

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119116532#Comment_119116532

You must be only cooking once a week at the most at that consumption.

Ubbquittious

Good few by SMEG that don't have the touch controls: https://www.smeg.com/hobs/induction

It would be better if the buttons were along the side though. Don't get in the way as much then. Miele had one as well that had magnetic buttons that you could remove

cuculainn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119116560#Comment_119116560

pretty much every evening...but i guess it is mostly wok type stuff, with rice/noodles. so not boiling spuds etc! oven is electric which is where other meals are cooked...

i did buy one of those yokes for boiling eggs in aldi cause it bugged me that i used the gas for 10 minutes to boil eggs every day...so thats my bit for the environment too

SD_DRACULA

People seem to not have a clue about the health hazard that gas hobs present.

There is a serious amount of invisible/fine particulates you inhale from gas hobs - no matter what type of extractor fan you have. That should be the number one reason in fact. But I also agree that everything cooks faster with gas.

CreadanLady

I bought a mid terrace house in an estate that has a Calor gas tank which supplies the houses. I rang up to enquire about getting an account set up. When they told me the price of the gas was € 3.29 per m3 and was going up to another 33c plus VAT I said to them forget it and to just get the supply disconnected.

That was in February and I have had no heating in the house since. I find that it is fine. No need of it. I think the house gains an awful lot of heat through the party wall, so my neighbours are heating my house for me.

bullit_dodger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119117882#Comment_119117882

To be fair, it was a pretty mild winter. If it was a "beast from the east" winter.....you might still thawing out. :-)

graememk

And for the ones playing along at home, 1m3 of gas is 10.55kwh,

3.62 euro per m3, + 33c + vat.. at 13.5? = €4.1087

= 0.389c/kwh.. and say you have a standard non condensing boiler, 85% efficient 45.7c/kwh vs electric!!!!!

You might as well get some oil radiators than use the the gas heating!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119117882#Comment_119117882

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119118181#Comment_119118181

Those Calor ones are a ferocious rip-off alright. I suppose they recoup the cost of the tank & providing a free boiler

garo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119111886#Comment_119111886

Nobody is saying that there are no environmental costs to renewable energy and yes using less is definitely the greenest way. But we'll always have to use some electricity. And what is the cost of digging up and hauling all that coal or drilling for all that gas? You have to compare it to the cost of the lithium and whatever else and then measure which is more polluting over a reasonable timescale. Turns out people have done those calcs and solar panels pay off after about 18 months assuming you burnt coal to make them. The electricity they produce in those 18 months offsets the pollution caused in producing them entirely. Everything after that is a net saving.

unkel

PV panels are mostly made in China, as are inverters. A few years ago coal was two thirds of China's source of electricity production and renewables one third, but renewables are very fast moving towards half in the next year or two. China installs more renewables than the rest of the world put together and they have done for years. So that 18 months is more like about a year soon. But please folks, that is for another discussion!

UID0

I'm in the process of looking at this at the moment. We're getting external insulation put onto the house, which means the gas meter has to be moved anyway. GNI have to do all of the work with the meter move, and they charge over €600 to move the meter or over €800 to disconnect you from the gas network. Our gas boiler as nearly 20 years old, so needs to be replaced anyway, so it makes sense to move to a heat pump. Like you, we have a gas fire, but haven't actually used it in the last 10 years, so won't miss it.

If you're concerned about cooking on induction, get one of the little portable induction hobs that plug into a standard 13A socket and see how cooking on it works for you. I got one in Ikea for about €40 a few years back, but I don't think they do them there anymore. The only issue I have is that the pots slide a little on the hob, as it is so smooth relative to a gas hob.

Mr Q

I live in an all electric house and find it great. Not sure why people are complaining about the touch controls on induction hobs, most normal electric hobs are the same anyway.

I had no gas option where I built so it was oil or HP really. And the local "minority" can't keep robbing my tank of oil if I don't have one.

If anyone is looking for a portable induction hob I have one I don't use

Fantana2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119113715#Comment_119113715

How do you work out you need only two? What you not need one per room or would you replace some rads with electric rads?

Feisar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119116411#Comment_119116411

My mums one is like that. Touch here for this tap that to select ring, then start tapping to change temp. I've a Smeg Victoria with old school knobs, instant reponce.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119132362#Comment_119132362

By coincidence, really. I had two large mining rigs heat my home this winter, zero gas used. One in the living room and one in the large kitchen / extension / conservatory. We've never used radiators in the bedrooms and I thought the bathrooms were going to be a problem and would need heating, but they didn't. It was a very mild winter though...

SD_DRACULA

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119132362#Comment_119132362

Well each unit provides cooling/heating for 3 rooms so 2 units = 6 rooms.

3 bedrooms upstairs, kitchen/dinning/living downstairs. Not sure how easy (if even possible) to run the cables/pipes downstairs, upstairs they can be routed via the attic.

unkel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119138477#Comment_119138477

Not the mini-splits I am thinking of @SD_DRACULA. One unit is for one room, there are no cables / ducts / pipes anywhere. Just a ventilation unit on the inside of a wall and the heatpump / compressor on the outside of that wall or close to it. Mini split systems costs only about €500 each, so a couple of them including install (not taking into account any possible subsidy) is cheaper than replacing a gas boiler

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119138865#Comment_119138865

Well there will be some pipe work, flow and return and some power/control circuitry between the outside and inside unit.

simpsimp

Induction hobs have been around for a long time, and they've improved a lot over time.

I'm totally converted, and would not go back to gas at this stage - I find a combination of induction and cast iron cookware the sweet spot for me.

The only gas we have in the house now is a canister of Bio-LPG for the barbecue.

It's electric all the way - with a heat pump and solar PV.

No complaints.

SD_DRACULA

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119138865#Comment_119138865

Yeah I'm just not so sure how you can heat/cool separate rooms like that? Open all the doors around the house? Don't these things work best when they are confined to one room only?

With the split ones you would have total control room by room and only heat and cool what you need. Hook them up to HA and your temp/humidity sensors in every room and you'll get some proper zoning automation right there.

mp3guy

Recommend switching your open gas fire for a closed solid fuel (wood) burning stove. Reduce heat loss in the room and replace gas with a renewable resource.