Off gas for good in a 1905 Wellington cottage, one appliance at a time

The home and the problem

Mark and his partner bought their 1905 timber home in Wellington in 2019. It's a small single-storey house with high ceilings and the usual Wellington wind. Everything ran on gas: a gas heater on the lounge wall that would rattle away and make a bit of noise and some heat, a gas hot water system outside, and gas hobs. The other rooms relied on plug-in and oil column heaters.

Why they went for it

Mark had always wanted to go electric:

I'd always wanted to move to electric because I'm a bit of a greenie at heart, and wanted to move us as far towards sustainability as we could and off fossil fuels.

He's also a self-confessed tech fan, so the push came when the gas appliances started reaching the end of their lives. The hot water went first. The technician said they no longer had parts for that model, so Mark looked at the options: a like-for-like gas replacement, a standard electric cylinder, or a heat pump cylinder. He chose the heat pump, which costs more up front but uses much less energy to heat the water. The space heater and the hobs followed as they wore out.

Choosing and installing

Each upgrade was done as its old gas appliance wore out, rather than all at once. The new heat pump went exactly where the old gas heater had been on the lounge wall. The installers ran the pipework a long way to tuck the outdoor unit out of sight at the back of the section:

They've done a really good job of sending it in really neutral-looking pipes all the way to the back... it's really out of the way and it doesn't make any noise that we can hear anywhere.

Mark had worried whether the old wiring could handle it all. An electrician added a dedicated circuit for the new oven and induction cooktop, which put that worry to rest. One tip from Mark: the hot water heat pump's outdoor tank and condenser take up more room than you might expect, so plan where they'll go.

The last step was disconnecting the gas. There was a small disconnection fee, but after that, one less bill and one less company to deal with. As Mark puts it, they just have one energy provider now, which simplifies things a lot.

Life after

The heat feels different:

The whole room is just warm almost everywhere and it circulates better because it's got the fans in it.

What Mark enjoys most is control. He has temperature sensors around the house and can turn the heat pump on from his phone on the way home, something he'd never have done with a gas heater running in an empty house. The panel heaters in the other rooms have their own app too.

There have been some unexpected bonuses as well. On hot summer days, the heat pump keeps the house cool for the dog, and on wet days its dry mode helps dry the washing indoors.

In summertime it's good, we've got the dog at home and we couldn't cool the property before. So that's a new option for us.

The induction cooktop has been a hit too:

I used to hate cooking and cleaning on the gas hob because I'd never get it clean, plus I used to leave it on a lot which was frightening. The induction cooker is great because if you take a pan off it, it's off. You wipe it and it's almost as clean as when you bought it.

It's more powerful than gas, so it took Mark a little while to get used to. He says he didn't know you could burn rice, but you can. Now he loves it for toasting seeds and making popcorn.

The hot water heat pump just seems like magic. It has never run out, even in a Wellington winter. Mark had wondered whether it would get hot enough to be safe, but every couple of weeks it automatically heats the water to around 70°C to kill bacteria.

The numbers

Mark estimates the household now saves around $1,000–1,500 a year on energy. The hot water heat pump cost about $8,000 and the heat pump about $6,000. And he's happy with the choice for all the other reasons too: comfort, control, health and getting off fossil fuels.

What Mark would tell someone thinking about it

Mark would point to the environmental benefits first, then the everyday ones: the heat pump's flexibility (heating, cooling and drying) and how easy induction is to live with. Then there's what you're no longer breathing in:

There's health benefits about not having gas emissions in your house. I think over a long time it can affect people with asthma and respiratory things.

And he says it's a good time to do it: the technology is improving all the time, so it's a good time to go and upgrade.