Gas worse than electricity on household CO2 emissions, report finds

A switch from gas to electricity for heating and cooking in Australian households might not only be cheaper, but in most cases would be better for the environment, a new report has found.

The report, released on Tuesday by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), found that in most cases and for most households across Australia, switching from gas to efficient electric appliances for space heating, water heating and cooking produced less greenhouse gas emissions.

Titled “Are We Cooking the Planet with Gas?”, the report analyses the emissions impacts of the scenarios outlined in the ATA’s 2014 analysis on the economics of gas versus efficient electric appliances, Are We Still Cooking with Gas?

The analysis covered 156 household scenarios across 26 locations in Australia and found that for the majority of households, completely moving away from gas to efficient electric was not only cheaper, but less greenhouse intensive.

“In the few cases where we found there were emissions increases, they were very small and could be offset by the purchase of 100% GreenPower electricity at a maximum cost of about $10 a year per home,” said ATA policy and research manager Damien Moyse.

The report’s key observations included the finding that carbon dioxide emissions were lower when switching all three traditionally gas-fuelled household appliances (space heaters, water heaters and ovens/stovetops) to efficient electric appliances.

This was consistent across household scenarios and all locations apart from Mildura, Victoria, where there was a small increase as a result of the switch.

The report also found that on a single appliance replacement basis, space heating was consistently found to be less emissions intensive when delivered by efficient electric appliances as opposed to gas.

The emissions impact of water heating varied by location, according to the report, with all Victorian and some NSW/ACT locations experiencing a minor increase in emissions with a switch to efficient electric, while South Australia, Queensland and other parts of NSW experienced a reduction.