It was 1999 and we were doing what we thought was our final renovation. Oh, the naivety of the first time renovator. We'd heard of solar panels but they were incredibly expensive and we weren't really sure how they would work. Still, we took advice from both the builder and the bank manager. The first was very pro. The second, not so much.

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In the end we compromised. We installed a solar hot water system. It saw us through the teen years of our kids without a terrifying electricity bill. But I was disappointed in myself. I'd struggled to argue my point with the bank manager who was convinced it wasn't a good investment.

Since then, as we have slowly electrified our lives, I still tend to be bossed out of my position by people who think they know better. Year 2020: ageing and always hopeless small yet snazzy Citroen dies. We gave it wallet-to-wallet transfusions, service after service, yet nothing would resuscitate it. We both wanted to buy an EV but were constantly told by others that it was too soon. Blah blah. Range anxiety. Blah blah the technology isn't there yet.

Again, we settled for the middle. We bought a hybrid even as friends were suspicious. The Toyota RAV4* is, genuinely, the best car we've ever had. It fits three baby seats across the back seat and, according to Bluey lore, in an emergency we could put a kid in the front seat. Our fuel bills plummeted. And I was feeling pretty pleased with myself until this idiotic Trump-fuelled war.

While I drive around on one tank of petrol for a month at a time, I'm anxious that the next time I fill up it will be harder. I remember the fuel shortage of the seventies when folks with even-numbered number plates could fill up one day, alternating those with who had odd-numbered number plates. Caused so much stress. And I'm annoyed we were talked out of an EV.

Seems like in those five years, anxiety around EVs has all but disappeared unless we are hearing endlessly from folks like Warren Clark, chief executive of the National Road Transport Association who has a million reasons why "electric truck fleets are still a while away". In the meantime, the same people who advised me not to go large on solar panels are still pushing for an urgent expansion of oil and gas exploration. Okay, not exactly the same people - but those who want to stick to old technologies and older ways. In the meantime - and accelerating because of the fuel crisis, are sales of EVS both old and new.

And again, at the end of 2022 we went for a zillion solar panels but no battery. Folks kept telling me that a battery would never pay for itself. Turns out that we are moving out of our home of 33 years so no, it wouldn't have. But the solar panels have been an absolute revelation. Yes, I've had to change my behaviour in the laundry. Where once I would put a load on before I went to bed, now I do it all in the daytime when the sun runs our household.

Next house, we are not planning on listening to anyone but the experts. Solar panels. Batteries. An EV when the amazing RAV dies (it's still under warranty so it's done a lot better than the Citroen). Induction cooktop.

Look, smug about some of these electrifying decisions - but not smug enough. The only thing getting between us and a fully electrified home next time? Dear god. The strata committee. Wish us luck.

*No-one is paying me to say this. I will never buy anything other than a Toyota again.

Jenna Price is a guest Echidna and a regular columnist.

HAVE YOUR SAY: Have you gone electric either at home or on the road? What helped you make your decision? Any regrets? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

- Flu vaccinations are now available at your local GP or chemist. Good news since we had a massive January for cases of flu.

- A UNSW researcher, Katja Hanewald, says the Home Equity Access Scheme (HEAS) allows older Australians to access their housing wealth but it remains little known and is under-utilised. Just 18,691 people are currently taking part in the scheme, a relatively low take-up.

- And the Bureau of Meteorology delivered the long-range forecast for April to June: rainfall below average, daytime and night time temperatures likely to be above average.

THEY SAID IT: The advice I would give to someone is to not take anyone's advice. Eddie Murphy

YOU SAID IT: John is a deadset nature lover and he wrote about what we could learn from currawongs. He asked: How often do you stop and listen to nature? Do you have a favourite bird that visits your garden?

Currawongs clearly adore the gardens of Echidna readers. Maggie says their song takes her back to the Blue Mountains where her grandparents lived on a bush block. They provide a thread of continuity in a vastly changed world, she writes. Ros says she often sees numbers of them flying from tree to tree and calling to each other. "I like to say that they are organising a currawong party," says Ros. And Sue doesn't mind that her pencil pines are being stripped by one flock of birds or another: galahs, sulphur crested cockies, maggies, several varieties of rosellas and parrots that mob her front garden, and yes, the currawongs.

Elisabeth describes nature as healing. And the Echidna hopes that's also true for Jennifer who writes: "Nature even distracts through chemo, reminding me how lucky I am to live in a beautiful part of Canberra. It would all be so much harder in an ugly place."

And no Echidna can ever mention birds without reference to Hitchcock. Jenny tells us: "One morning I heard a tapping sound on my glass sliding door. It was Mother Currawong with Bub on side, they both came in to see what food was on offer. Not afraid of entering my abode. The next morning I heard a familiar tapping on the glass sliding door, I expected to see the Currawongs, to my surprise it was a young Pee Wee copying the Currawongs and looking for food. If that wasn't enough; a week later another tap at the door brought me a raven, are they all watching?"

More fool me. Time to stop taking advice from people who know next to nothing.

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