Installing a new kitchen? Adding a bathroom? When you’re renovating your home, gas is something thousands of Kiwi’s wouldn’t be without. Whether it’s cooking with a real flame, reliable hot water, or instant warmth on a cold winter night, gas continues to play an important role in everyday life.
If you already have gas connected to your home, renovating can often be the easiest and most cost-effective time to upgrade appliances while keeping the benefits of gas you already enjoy.
Gas gives you control in the kitchen
For keen home cooks, gas is often non-negotiable. The instant heat, the ability to adjust the heat and the familiarity of cooking over a live flame are things that are hard to replicate. Whether you're cooking up a simple weeknight stir-fry or hosting a dinner party, gas just works the way you expect it to. Many renovators who are updating their kitchens choose to keep gas, not because it's the default, but because it's the right tool for how they cook.
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Hot water that works when you need it
Gas hot water systems are known for delivering consistent, reliable hot water on demand. For busy households and families with kids, homes with multiple bathrooms, or anyone who simply wants instant hot water, reliability matters.
When renovating, replacing a working gas hot water system with an alternative isn't always necessary. If it works well and serves your household, keeping it is often the straightforward choice.
Keeping gas is often the practical choice when renovating
Switching from gas to electric during a renovation isn't always straightforward. It can involve new wiring, upgraded switchboards and changes to how your home is set up, all of which add cost and complexity to what may already be a busy project. For many homeowners, the practical decision is to keep gas where it already exists. It avoids disruption, keeps costs down, and means one less thing to manage during a renovation.
Beautiful kitchens and bathrooms sell homes
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Real estate agents will tell you that kitchens and bathrooms are the two rooms that really sway buyers. That means a well-executed renovation in either space isn't just about how you live now but rather it's an investment in your home's future value.
A gas stovetop is a genuine drawcard for food lovers, and a gas fire can be the focal point of a living space in a way that a wall-mounted heat pump simply can't replicate as that flickering warmth adds atmosphere as much as heat. For families, endless hot water is an easy sell too, no cold showers after everyone piles in from Saturday sport.
If you're renovating to sell, keeping or adding gas in the right places can be a point of difference that buyers notice.
An important energy source for many Kiwi households for years to come
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We know there's been a lot of conversation about gas supply lately, and it can be confusing. Here's what's actually happening.
New Zealand's domestic gas supply is declining over time, which means prices are increasing, similar to electricity and other forms of energy. But this does not mean gas is suddenly disappearing for homes and small businesses.
Almost 300,000 households across New Zealand use natural gas for cooking, heating and hot water. Together, residential users account for around 8% of New Zealand's total gas demand, with small and medium-sized businesses making up a further 8%. The bulk of gas consumption comes from large industrial users, think steel, glass and cement manufacturing, who rely on gas for high-heat processes. These larger users are more exposed to tightening domestic supply over time. Residential and small business customers, by contrast, are expected to continue having access to gas for many years.
For most households, the biggest change over time is likely to be price rather than availability. Rising production costs, inflation and shifts across the wider energy market are all expected to continue putting upward pressure on energy prices, and gas is no different from electricity in that respect.
Wouldn’t be without it
When you renovate, you make choices based on what matters to your household. For the hundreds of thousands of New Zealand families who cook, heat and shower with gas every day, keeping it isn't a question they spend much time thinking about. It works. It's familiar. And when something does that, you wouldn't be without it.
