Electricity is essentially an abstraction layer that decouples the source of energy from the consumer.
Even if you want to remain 100% fossil fuel dependent, it still makes a lot more sense, outside of some industrial uses, to generate electricity with those fossil fuels and then use the electricity to power your actual device, whether it’s your air conditioning unit or your automobile, than to ship liquid gas to hundreds of thousands of gas stations all over or build pipes to send gaseous natural gas to every house.
Not only is it more efficient, as any abstracted system, it allows far more flexibility and resilience due to that flexibility.
Highly recommend a visit to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, MI. They have a belt-driven workshop that demonstrates that this abstraction/desire has existed for a very long time. Electricity is currently our best-known way to put it into practice.
PS - depending on their schedule of interactive demos, you might even be able to make something in the workshop :)
Heat pump sales rise across Europe
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48012003
Iran war sparks renewables boom as Europeans rush to buy solar, heat pumps, EVs
Panel I've bought 15 months ago is 20% more expensive now.
12 months ago 4300 yuan would cost 1000 NZD. 4400 yuan today (3% increase) would be about 1100 NZD.