Ok, so I’ve decided to move away from fossil fuels. There are 3 different purposes for which I currently use gas, namely heating, cooking and hot water (mainly showering). I will have to find a solution for each of these applications.

It might be nice to first take a look at my current energy consumption. I travel a lot and always rent out my apartment whenever I do, and always to couples, so a lot of the energy consumption data at my address is distorted as a result. However, last year (2021) I was home for 10 months, did not rent out my apartment for the month of November, and rented it to a couple from December 2021 to August 2022. So for convenience, I could say that 2021 was an average year for my single-person household.

In 2021 I used 654 M³ of gas and 1,359 kWh of electricity. That is already a lot less than an average single-person household consumes. 654 M³ of gas equals 5,750 kWh of electricity, so if I switch everything to electricity without saving energy, it will be a hefty electricity bill.

In the summer months of June, July, August and September I used a combined 31 M³ of gas. Of course this can all be contributed to cooking and hot water, which would amount to 93 M³ of gas on an annual basis for cooking and hot water.

Some internet research reveals that an average shower uses 0.2 M³ of gas, which is 73 M³ of gas per year for showering. I would then still use 18 M³ of gas for cooking. That leaves 563 M³ of gas, the vast majority, that I spent on heating my apartment.

These figures are of course based on averages and well-founded assumptions, but they do provide something to work with and to base choices on.

This content has been previously posted by me on other platforms and adapted and backdated to fill this blog.