Wood to gas to electricity

When I was a kid, staying with my nanna in the country meant starting the day with a simple chore: lighting the wood stove. Before breakfast could be cooked or a kettle boiled for tea, the stove had to be coaxed into life. Once lit, it would burn steadily all day, providing warmth, hot water, and a place to cook. Living beyond the reach of town gas, my nanna relied entirely on wood to keep her household running. Over time, natural gas transformed the way Australians lived. Gas stoves, heaters and hot water systems replaced wood-fired appliances in countless homes. In Victoria, where cheap gas from Bass Strait became widely available from the 1970s, gas quickly became the preferred option for heating and cooking.

Now, however, the story is changing again. Research has highlighted the environmental and health impacts of natural gas, including methane emissions that persist even when appliances are switched off. Those tiny leaks may seem insignificant, but across millions of homes they contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, the Victorian Government is proposing a future in which gas appliances are gradually phased out. With a reverse-cycle air conditioner already installed, I’ve taken the first step towards an all-electric home. The biggest remaining hurdle is replacing the gas hot water with a heat pump. It feels like another chapter in a long story of changing technology, from wood to gas and now to electricity.