The Findings
Research commissioned by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has quantified the health impact of gas appliances in New Zealand homes. The results are stark. Gas cooking is associated with over 200 premature deaths per year and contributes to approximately 3,000 additional asthma cases annually. Direct health system costs attributable to residential gas appliances run to $47 million per year. Unflued gas heaters, present in an estimated 45,000 New Zealand homes, add nearly $13 million in annual health expenses.
The total health impact cost — incorporating direct health system expenditure, productivity losses, and the broader economic burden of preventable illness — exceeds $3 billion annually. NZGBC’s Sam Archer summarised the position bluntly: “Gas belongs outside with the BBQ, not inside with the kids.”
The Transition Opportunity
Transitioning from gas to electric heat pumps for space and water heating, combined with induction cooking, would eliminate the indoor combustion risk entirely. EECA’s modelling suggests this transition could save New Zealand households $1.5 billion in energy costs — electric heat pumps are substantially more efficient than gas heating per unit of useful heat delivered, meaning the transition is not just healthier but cheaper to operate.
The economics of the transition depend significantly on upfront capital cost and access to appropriate financing. Electric heat pumps and induction cooktops carry higher purchase prices than gas equivalents in most cases, and the households most exposed to the health risks of gas appliances — lower-income renters in older homes — are often the least able to fund the transition independently.
Why Gas Connections Keep Happening
Despite the health data, thousands of new homes continue to connect to gas networks annually. The EECA research points to a specific mechanism: without a clear policy phase-out date for new gas connections, households whose appliances fail replace them with equivalent gas appliances because the alternative requires a more significant capital commitment and often involves electrical infrastructure upgrades. The path of least resistance — replace like with like — perpetuates gas use in the existing stock even as the costs of that use are documented.
Implications for Builders and Electricians
For builders working in the residential new build and renovation space, the direction of travel is clear. Specifying electric heat pumps, induction cooktops, and hot water heat pumps rather than gas alternatives positions projects ahead of the regulatory curve and delivers lower operating costs to clients. Electricians with heat pump installation capability and understanding of the load calculations for fully electrified homes are well positioned as the transition accelerates. The government has signalled its support for electrification across multiple policy areas — the market is moving in one direction.