2024-11-04
By Rob Delves, Green Issue Co-editor
This book is essential reading for anyone seeking the best quality practical advice on how to transition their household away from gas and petrol to an all-electric one (powered of course by renewables).
Tim Forcey is extremely well qualified and experienced to deliver. He trained as a chemical engineer and worked around the world for the dreaded fossil fuel industry, but has become a “home comfort and energy adviser and researcher.” He also writes with great clarity, variety and humour. I especially love the section headings, which include gems such as the following:
Bye-bye gas grid, we’re not coming back
Do you live in a leaky bucket?
Every chapter includes at least a couple of cool cartoons to ramp up the entertainment value. So, for a book packed with explanations about energy systems, energy efficiency and electrical costings it’s an entertaining, breezy read, which is a delight for a non-engineering chump like me. 
Interestingly from a climate change persuasion viewpoint, Tim Forcey’s argument for ditching fossil fuels and going all-electric is unapologetically COST SAVINGS 1 with SAVING THE 
PLANET well down the preference list at 2 or maybe 3. This is nuts in terms of what really matters, but very sensible in the grubby cost-of-living constrained world where many of us live. It also accords with the conclusion of climate researchers who have found that arguments based on positive benefits are much more persuasive than negative messaging ramping up fears about a planet in peril.
So, you’re an average sort of citizen who wants to dance the full Clean Electric Journey. Here is my take on what are the book’s top 10 DOs and DON’Ts in some order of preference ̶ though Forcey also emphasises that it’s sensible to wait till old appliances are worn out before ditching them.
1. Rooftop solar ̶ the biggest you can afford (and try to power up your electric things as much as possible in the hours when the solar is booming).
2. Reverse-cycle air con in your main living areas – much better than ducted systems and of course much better than gas heaters. A heater and cooler in the one-device!
3. A hot water heat pump, the smallest (<170L?) you need (most people massively over-estimate) – not gas, not-rooftop solar hot water and not the old electric resistive HWS.
4. Electric Induction Cooktop – you don’t need big gas flames for your wok.
5. Insulation – thick, continuous, fluffy, good quality stuff.
6. No home batteries (at least for a while) – still too expensive.
7. Electric Vehicles make good economic sense (but e-bikes are even better).
8. Reduce leaks from poorly installed doors and window frames (even old timber floors).
9. Keep the summer sun off your windows – suitable eaves, verandas, shady plants (ideally designing so some winter sun does hit the windows).
10. Use less energy – Why two fridges? Does your teenager sit semi-naked in front of a screen with a gas heater on max beside them (do you?) How many unused rooms do you need? And we assume all your lights are already LEDs.
Potential annual savings of $5000+ if you spend up on these top 10. Yet another reason why “Renting-as-it-currently-is” sucks to the max – as does a crippling mortgage. The final chapter is I’m a renter, what can I do? A few good ideas there, but we urgently need a suite of Greens policies to enable lower-income households to get onto the Top 10 Journey. I think we already have the beginnings of these within our Renters’ Rights policies.
[Opinions expressed are those of the author and not official policy of Greens WA]