{"id":99649,"date":"2026-06-04T05:35:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=99649"},"modified":"2026-06-03T20:36:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T11:06:04","slug":"single-upgrade-wiped-out-our-gas-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/single-upgrade-wiped-out-our-gas-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"A Single Upgrade Wiped Out Most Our Gas Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AGetting off gas is a multi-year process for many households – replacing hot water, heating and cooking appliances can be an expensive initial outlay to get done all at once. But as I found with my first gas bill after getting a hot water heat pump, even getting just one appliance upgraded can make a big difference.<\/p>\n

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How Much Does A Heat Pump Cut Gas Bills?<\/h2>\n

I took a big step towards quitting gas earlier this year, ripping out our gas hot water system and replacing it with an iStore hot water heat pump<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve still got the gas cooktop and stove to replace before our home can disconnect from the gas network entirely, but there’s been an immediate impact on our bills already.<\/p>\n

The heat pump was installed roughly 3 months ago – exactly aligning with my gas billing period, giving a stark before-and-after picture.<\/p>\n

I got my first gas bill since the install earlier this week, and saw that it had plummeted to just $84, down from $172 the previous quarter (and $213 the quarter before that).<\/p>\n

The overwhelming majority of what remains is the supply charge, as you can see from the chart below that came with my gas bill. Our actual gas consumption has almost completely evaporated, as much more gas is used by hot water systems than by cooktops and ovens.<\/p>\n

\"gas

Our hot water heat pump was installed on March 2 – the same day as a gas meter read, giving a clear picture of our home’s gas consumption pre and post install. The ‘current read’ date was May 29. Gas use dropped from 11.37 MJ a day on average before the heat pump upgrade, down to 0.86 MJ afterwards.<\/p><\/div>\n

What To Do About The Supply Charge<\/h2>\n

It is great to get a start on recouping the cost of the hot water heat pump (for us, it was roughly $2,100, after rebates secured through the Energy Masters program<\/a>), but to further shorten the payback period, we’ll still want to completely disconnect from gas and stop paying the supply charge. We are planning a kitchen renovation in the near term that will involve replacing our gas oven and cooktop with induction, leaving us gas-free.<\/p>\n

It’s part of the messy reality of home electrification: upgrades won’t all get done at once, particularly with the initial investments required for each appliance.<\/p>\n

In our case, we’re deciding between a couple of stopgap solutions on what to do in this interim period before the kitchen reno gets underway:<\/p>\n