1. It saves you money
An all electric home saves you money over the long-term; it is about $6,000 dollars cheaper to go all electric over 10 years (installing heating, hot water and cooking from scratch) and the savings continue into the future even taking into account the cost of replacing equipment. And of course if you install a decent sized solar PV system (10 kW +) you will pay no power bill and after the solar has paid for itself (about 5 years) it will start to pay off the cost of your all-electric appliances with the revenue it generates (clearly this does not happen with gas).
2. All electric homes are safer
All energy systems have some level of risk associated with them, this being said modern electrical systems have many safety features built into them (fuses, circuit breakers, surge protectors, automatic off-switches etc) that have reduced the risk of them causing damage or harm to a very low level.
Gas systems also have many safety feature built in but unfortunately, due to the nature of gas, still have hazards that cannot be eliminated such as: exposure to naked flame (the major source of kitchen fires), carbon monoxide poisoning (from badly maintained equipment operating indoors), gas leaks/explosion (especially for people with a poor sense of smell) and potential gas quality problems (if the gas transmission system is not operated correctly).
Electric homes do not have the risk of exposure to open flame and electric induction cook tops will not even get hot unless there is a pan placed on them; this greatly reduces the possibility of kitchen burns. Electric heating does not have the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or gas leaks and gas explosion. About the only risk that all-electric homes have above homes serviced by gas is the risk of blackout and even that can be mitigated through rooftop solar and home battery systems.
3. All electric homes are more comfortable
All electric homes are more comfortable. This comes down to the superior technology employed by the best reverse cycle AC units available, namely the Daikin US7. The US7 humidifies and dehumidifies the air as needed, to keep the humidity around 50% which is the optimal level for comfort; it also cleans and purifies the air which is a blessing for allergy sufferers. These features simply aren't available on current gas heating systems; dry air is a big issue for gas ducted heating causing dry skin over the winter months. Gas ducted heating also recycles indoor air adding to dust and indoor pollution levels.
4. All electric homes are more convenient
A major advantage of all electric homes is that they can be operated remotely if required. So say you are on your way home on a very hot/cold day you can remotely switch on your reverse cycle air conditioner and have your home set to the right temperature when you arrive. Or you can set your home heater to operate 30 minutes before you wake-up. This feature can also be used to switch off your heater when you don't need it saving you money.
5. All electric homes can be zero emissions
All electric homes can be powered by a zero emissions solar system making them zero emissions in operation. In the past, gas was touted as lower emissions than electricity as our grid was mainly powered by coal fired generators. With the wide spread rollout of solar power systems on homes, this is no longer the case. Although gas produces fewer emissions than coal (about 50% less per unit of energy delivered) it will never be zero emissions for households, but rooftop solar of course is zero emissions in operation.
You might ask the question, if all-electric homes have so many advantages why don't all homes use only electric services?
Well answer to this lies in the fact that many of these all-electric technology advances are relatively recent, within the last 10 years. And one advantage gas has over electricity is that the gas industry has spent decades and huge sums of money marketing the advantages of its home services (i.e. space heating, hot water and cooking) which in the past were cheaper and greener, but this is no longer the case.
So the main reason most houses aren't all electric is that most people don't currently know about the advantages of going all-electric, and (unfortunately) the electricity industry has been slow to promote these advantages and counter the propaganda that gas is greener from the gas industry. So don't take my word for it, research the benefits of all-electric homes for yourself and if you agree they are better (and I think you will) spread the word.
