Griffith and The Australia Institute have launched a new discussion paper called "Castles and Cars", that outlines how much Australian households can save if they electrified everything, including the cars, their household heating, their water heating and their cooking. No word on the BBQ, though. [...]

[T]he good news is that an electrified household presents an unequivocally cheaper and less wasteful future for everyone. We sometimes forget exactly how much energy is wasted in the production and burning of fossil fuels - around two thirds - and Castles and Cars notes that the energy use of an average household could be slashed from 102kWh a day (including energy consumed in the petrol or diesel cars), to just 37kWh.

"The "average" Australian household currently uses around 102kWh of energy per day, and spends $5,248 per year on energy related costs," the discussion paper says.

"Much of this energy use is due to the inefficiency of conventional fuels like natural gas and petrol for cars, which also create a large amount of emissions.

"These fuels are both expensive and highly polluting. The average household annually releases 11 tonnes of CO2-e into the atmosphere from its energy use activities.

"If we elecrify the "average" Australian household, with solar panels on the roof, a home battery, electric vehicles in the garage, and replacement of gas appliances with efficient electric ones, we can save thousands per year in household costs for the average home by 2030.

"The efficiency gains from new appliances and vehicles drops energy use significantly to around 37 kWh, and Australia's world leading solar is cheap enough to power the house while saving money."

What will this save? According to Castles and Cars, the average energy and fuel bills would drop from  around $5000 a year to just $800 a year.