Kiwi households and small businesses stand to save thousands of dollars by moving away from piped natural gas towards more efficient electric technologies, according to new research released today by the New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC). (Examples of upfront cost of a hot water heat pump in a medium sized new build home is $8280 compared with $6740 gas and $3,180 for electric resistance/ traditional cylinder.) The report estimates that transitioning homes and small businesses away from piped gas by 2050 would deliver around $7.1 billion in economy-wide benefits, including lower energy costs, reduced health impacts and avoided greenhouse gas emissions. Since early 2023, average household gas bills have increased by around 36 per cent in real terms, while electricity prices have risen by only around 5 per cent. “Around 95% of the work we do now is taking households off gas.