Electrify your home and garage

Heat and cool your home with an electric heat pump 

For the average household in New Zealand, keeping the temperature comfortable is the one of the largest energy expenses. Electric heat pumps are by far the most energy efficient and cheapest way to heat your home.  

Potential savings, compared to piped gas* 

• $235 in variable energy costs a year 
• $820 in energy costs a year, including fixed gas connection (if switching from gas heating means you are cutting your connection completely)
• $3,540 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and variable energy costs) 
• $12,350 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and all energy costs - if switching from gas heating means you are cutting your connection completely) 
• 90% less greenhouse gas emissions 

Potential savings, compared to bottled LPG* 

• $805 in variable energy costs a year 
• $940 in energy costs a year, including 2x 45kg gas bottle rental (if switching from gas heating means you are cutting your bottle rental completely)
• $12,290 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and variable energy costs) 
• $14,380 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and all energy costs - if switching from gas heating means you are cutting your bottle rental completely) 
• 90% less greenhouse gas emissions

These costs are based on an average house and assume installation of two heat pumps. Savings will be larger if the house is larger, less well insulated, or in a colder than average climate. Installing solar panels can increase savings. 

If you need a new heating system, a heat pump could be your best option

If you’re building, renovating, or looking to replace an older heating system that’s at the end of its life – heat pumps offer a lot of additional benefits over other options. They cost around the same or less than new gas heating, and are much cheaper to run. 

If you also use gas for water heating and cooking, it may make financial sense to switch to a heat pump when you upgrade and electrify your kitchen or hot water system – by switching your home off gas completely, you can save on the daily connection or bottle rental fees.  

Learn more about heat pumps

Heat your water with a hot water heat pump 

Water heating uses a similar amount of energy to space heating in the average New Zealand home, and is likely to be a larger use of energy if there are more than 3 people in your home. Hot water heat pumps use a lot less energy to run than gas or traditional electric water heating systems, resulting in significantly lower operating costs and emissions.

Potential savings, compared to piped gas* 

• $95 in variable energy costs a year 
• $680 in energy costs a year, including fixed gas connection (if switching from gas water heating means you are cutting your connection completely)
• -$2,040 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and energy costs) 
• $6,760 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and all energy costs – if switching from gas water heating means you are cutting your connection completely)
• 85% less greenhouse gas emissions 

Note the savings are negative (a net cost) if electrifying hot water and not removing a gas connection. This is the one situation where there is a net cost for electrifying a home appliance. 

Potential savings, compared to bottled LPG* 

• $430 in variable energy costs a year 
• $570 in energy costs a year, including 2x 45kg gas bottle rental (if switching from gas water heating means you are cutting your bottle rental completely)
• $3,010 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and energy costs) 
• $5,090 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and all energy costs – if switching from gas water heating means you are cutting your bottle rental completely)
• 85% less greenhouse gas emissions 

These costs are based on a 3-person household. Further savings can be achieved for larger households or if solar panels are installed. 

Plan ahead for when your hot water system needs replacing

Hot water cylinders have an expected lifespan of around 15 years, so if yours is getting old, chances are you may have to upgrade within the next 5 years or so. Typically, people are forced into a snap purchase when their hot water system breaks – but by planning ahead to make a smart decision rather than a hasty one, you can keep your future energy costs down.

While hot water heat pumps cost more up front, they work out around the same or cheaper over time compared to gas or standard electric systems  – particularly if your household has higher than average hot water use.  

If you have or are planning to get solar panels, your savings will increase even more. A standard electric resistive hot water system is also a good option when combined with solar, and has lower up-front costs. 

Learn about hot water heat pumps

Turn off the gas and start cooking with electricity 

Cooking uses a relatively small amount of energy, and most of our kitchen appliances are electric – but many of us use gas cooktops. Switching to an electric cooktop can save you money in energy costs. 

While ceramic electric resistance cooktops are more energy-efficient than gas, induction cookers are the most energy efficient electric option on the market – as well as the safest, healthiest and fastest tech available for cooking.  

Potential savings, compared to piped gas* 

• $5 in variable energy costs a year 
• $590 in energy costs a year, including fixed gas connection (if switching from a gas stove means you are cutting your connection completely)
• $575 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and variable energy costs) 
• $9,380 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and all energy costs – if switching from a gas stove means you are cutting your gas connection completely)
• 80% less greenhouse gas emissions 

Potential savings, compared to bottled LPG* 

• $105 in variable energy costs a year 
• $2,100 total over 15 years (includes purchase, installation and variable energy costs) 
• 80% less greenhouse gas emissions 

These costs are based on a 3-person household. Further savings can be achieved for larger households or if solar panels are installed. 

For bottled LPG, we haven't included potential savings from fixed energy costs (45kg bottle rental), as a household that only uses LPG for cooking is likely to use a 9kg bottle. 

An electric cooktop will bring you a step closer to a fossil fuel-free home

If you are in the market for a new cooktop or are upgrading your kitchen, it’s a good time to switch to electric. If your hot water and space heating run on gas, upgrading to an electric cooktop will bring you one step closer to a fossil fuel-free home while saving you money on energy costs.  

If your cooktop is the last gas appliance in your home, then by switching to electricity and disconnecting from gas entirely, you can make significant savings on your energy bills as you’ll no longer have to pay a high daily gas connection fee.  

Learn about induction cooktops

Powering petrol or diesel vehicles is by far the largest use of energy and the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions for a typical New Zealand household. Electric cars are much more energy-efficient than fossil fuelled vehicles, and cost less to run.  

Charging your EV at home is the cheapest option, and if you invest in a home smart charger, you can charge much faster, while better managing your home energy use to take advantage of cheaper off-peak electricity prices. 

There is significant variation in total cost of ownership calculations given variables such as purchase price and how the vehicle will be used, but with lower running costs and lower maintenance needs (due to fewer moving parts), an EV can work out cheaper. 

Potential savings, compared to petrol*

• $1,400 in running costs a year (includes fuel/energy, servicing, RUCs for EVs) 
• Equal or lower cost to petrol over 15 years (includes purchase price, fuel/energy, servicing, RUCs for EVs) 
• 90% less greenhouse gas emissions 

These costs are calculated based on a 14,000km per year driving distance, comparing an EV to a petrol car with a fuel efficiency of 6.9L/100 km. (Further detail on these calculations can be found at the bottom of this page.)

Further savings can be achieved for vehicles that are driven further than the yearly average, and if solar panels are installed. 

The equal lifetime cost we've calculated here assumes that the EV was  $20,400 more expensive to purchase. This assumption is based on the cost difference between top-selling petrol cars and EVs, and includes the cost of a smart charger in the case of EVs.

Make your next vehicle purchase an EV

Next time you’re in the market for a new car, you should consider buying an EV. Whether it’s brand new or used, an EV is cheaper to run.  

Another thing to consider is that the average age of private cars in New Zealand is 15 years. So if you’re buying a new vehicle, choosing an EV helps lock in emissions savings for New Zealand into the future.  

When you buy an EV, a smart charger should be your first accessory to help you manage home charging costs. 

Why buy an EV

Vehicle Comparison Calculator

Buying a smart EV charger

Double down on your savings with rooftop solar 

Installing rooftop solar panels on your home can decrease your energy costs even further, making electric homes particularly cost-effective.  

Rooftop solar systems have a 30-year life expectancy. If you divide the cost of solar panels and upkeep across this 30-year lifespan, it’s like buying your electricity at around 6 c/kWh. Compare this to an average 24c/kWh for electricity from the grid, and it’s 75% cheaper. 

Home solar panels have the added bonus of contributing to New Zealand’s overall electricity generation capacity – helping to supply all the power needed as people switch to EVs and electric appliances.  

Potential savings 

• Potential to pay itself off within about 7-8 years given the right circumstances. After this you’ve effectively got free electricity from the solar. 
• Zero emissions (electricity sourced from rooftop solar is 100% renewable).

Fully-electrified homes get the most benefit from solar 

You’ll get the greatest benefit from solar energy, the more electrified your house is. If your vehicle(s), hot water and appliances are all running off electricity, the cheaper you can get that electricity, the more you stand to save over time – especially as the cost of fossil fuels like petrol and gas is expected to rise.  

It may make financial sense to consider financing for a solar energy system, if you can get a low interest ‘green’ loan. Installing solar is essentially purchasing many years’ worth of energy upfront, which will be delivered to your home over the 30-year lifetime of the solar panels. 

Learn about rooftop solar

Overview

Two key data sources are used for cost, energy and emissions calculations: the Electric Homes Technical Report, Rewiring Aotearoa, March 2024(external link) and internal EECA analysis. (EECA is the government agency that backs Gen Less).

We use calculations from the Rewiring Aotearoa report for heat pumps, hot water heat pumps, electric cooktops, and overall household energy use and emissions, but give our own calculations when looking at the cost of vehicles. Finance costs and energy price inflation are excluded in all data presented here. 

For energy consumption and emissions, an average household is considered to be 2.8 people and 1.8 vehicles. In reality, every home will be different. The average household situation represented could also reflect a household with 3 people and 2 cars where the energy and vehicle use per person and per vehicle is slightly lower than average.  

Average home energy use and emissions 

These graphs show energy use and emissions comparisons for an average New Zealand household (2.8 people and 1.8 vehicles). Data source: Electric Homes Technical Report, Rewiring Aotearoa, March 2024(external link) 

How much you can save 

Our high-level savings calculations are based on an average household (2.8 people) with a two heat pumps, a hot water heat pump and an electric cooktop, compared to a similar household that uses piped gas or LPG for these appliances. Vehicles and rooftop solar are not included here. Data source: Electric Homes Technical Report, Rewiring Aotearoa, March 2024(external link) 

For our individual appliance savings calculations we have presented yearly savings for households that switch just this energy use to electricity. If the appliance is the only appliance in the house that uses gas, the savings include fixed gas connection or LPG bottle rental costs.  

Assumptions:

• Electricity variable cost: 24.2c/kWh or 18c/kWh off-peak/ripple.
• Electricity connection cost: Not included in any calculations – homes are assumed on-grid in all cases.
• Piped gas variable cost: 11c/kWh.
• Piped gas connection cost: $1.60 per day ($587 per year).
• LPG variable cost: 24.4c/kWh.
• LPG bottle rental (2 x 45kg bottles): $5.75 per bottle per month ($138 per year for two bottles).  

Vehicle cost calculations 

While our overall household graphs for energy and emissions assume an average of ‘1.8 cars’ using data from the Electric Homes Technical Report, Rewiring Aotearoa, March 2024(external link), our more detailed comparisons between petrol cars and EVs focus on a single car for the purpose of clarity and have been calculated internally by EECA.  

We’ve taken this approach to better show average emissions at a household level (ie, for a household with two cars), while aiding decision-making for individual vehicle purchases.  

Cost calculations for cars are extremely variable, depending on driving distance, vehicle fuel efficiency and purchase price. Here is a full list of assumptions used for single-vehicle cost calculations on this page: 

• 14,000km per year driving distance. This is consistent with the Gen Less Vehicle Comparison Calculator(external link) and the NZ Transport Agency’s Rightcar(external link) tool). 
• Fuel consumption of 6.9L/100 km for a petrol car. This is an average of top-selling petrol cars.  
• Efficiency of 18kWh/100 km for an EV. This is an average of top-selling EVs, and includes charging losses.  
• Petrol cost of $2.80/L. This is an average of petrol prices from July 2023-March 2024.  
• Electricity cost of 27c/kWh. This is based on a mix of average off-peak electricity rates and public charging rates.  
• A difference in purchase price of $20,400. This is based on the difference between top-selling petrol cars and EVs, and includes the cost of a smart charger in the case of EVs.