Fears the Iran conflict would trigger a surge in power prices have been unfounded. Why? One factor is the very rapid rollout of home and grid-scale batteries. As a result, Australia's reliance on expensive gas has fallen and power prices have stayed steady or even fallen.
Now it's time for policymakers and households to look beyond batteries to hot water systems. For the average Australian home, water heating is still the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions (25%). Reliance on gas is a key reason.
Our research has shown efficient electric hot water systems could provide energy storage equivalent to 2 million home batteries while saving billions in energy bills.
Focusing on hot water makes sense. Helping households switch to new systems with much cheaper running costs would act as a powerful lever for energy affordability and equity, while reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
From batteries to hot water
