We've just decided to build a fairly large single-storey house to the (pretty far) southwest of Sydney. Putting in ducted reverse cycle a/c, but also a couple of fireplaces, basically for the aesthetics. However, we both love the idea of sitting and enjoying the radiant heat from the fireplace on a winter's evening.
I'd like to go totally solar/electric, and avoid connecting the gas at all (I gather we should also save a little money there). We've already decided on an electric kitchen including induction cooktop, so the gas would only be for the fireplaces. (And possibly a BBQ, sometime in the future).
Unfortunately, the SO downright refuses to have anything to do with gas bottles. So it seems to come down to a choice between hooking up natural gas just to occasionally run a fireplace, and installing electric fireplaces.
Probably the biggest outstanding question is, are electric fireplaces any good? We've seen some, from Dimplex for example, which look awesome. But even with the reverse cycle to keep the place comfortable, we really want the radiant heat (occasionally). We haven't yet had a chance to check them out in person.
Any thoughts?
I did try to track down prior discussions here, but the best I could find was a brief mention, which then degenerated into an argument about the pollution from wood-burning.