Heated Debate: Gas vs Heat Pump Water Systems

Feeling the winter chill while your wallet feels the burn of skyrocketing gas prices? You're not alone. This eye-opening conversation dives into the reality many Kiwi homeowners face with traditional gas water heating systems – from the shock of cold showers when bottled gas runs dry to the frustration of waiting weeks for gas deliveries.

We explore the compelling alternative of heat pump hot water systems, a technology that's revolutionising home energy efficiency across New Zealand. These remarkable systems can heat ten times more water than conventional methods while using less power – a win-win for comfort and cost-saving. With units available from major retailers like Bunnings for $6,000-$8,000 plus installation, the initial investment might seem steep. However, the financial equation becomes much more attractive when you consider the potential to recover costs within just two years through energy savings.

The conversation takes an even more interesting turn when we discuss the special green home loans currently offered by many New Zealand banks. These loans feature incredibly low interest rates – some as low as 0% or 1% – specifically designed to help homeowners make energy-efficient upgrades. With natural gas resources predicted to diminish over the next few decades (leading to even higher prices), now might be the perfect time to future-proof your home's hot water system. Ready to say goodbye to unexpected cold showers and hello to efficient, reliable hot water? Explore your options today and see if a heat pump hot water system could be right for your home.

Chapters

• 0:00 Winter Weather Chat
• 0:50 Gas Prices and Hot Water Problems
• 1:54 Heat Pump Hot Water Explained
• 3:30 Cost and Green Home Loan Benefits
• 5:04 Final Thoughts on Future Energy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:10

Hello and welcome back to that Homelon Hub. Today I am joined by Kunj hey. Kunj, good morning. Good morning, what a crispy one, huh.

Speaker 2: 0:18

Oh, so cold this whole week it has been.

Speaker 1: 0:21

It's funny because it always surprises me when people go oh, it's so cold, I'm like it's winter.

Speaker 2: 0:26

Yeah, but it's like minus, I think three this morning, like so icy, but I'm happy the sun's out though, so I can't complain. It's either you get rain and it's a little bit warmer, or you get the sun and it's a crisp winter morning.

Speaker 1: 0:40

Nice, what I thought we should talk about, which is a huge area of interest for me and you, now that we're talking how cold it is green energy lawns, oh, yes, yes. And heat pump hot waters, because we were talking about it in the morning yes, with our plumber friend. So let's address this issue, yeah, okay. So my problem is I've noticed the gas prices have increased, like three times since last year.

Speaker 2: 1:06

Yeah, they have definitely increased.

Speaker 1: 1:08

I love cooking with gas and I love my nonstop hot showers. Yes, until the gas water, the gas bottles run out and I find myself in the middle of a shower with cold water.

Speaker 2: 1:22

Because you're on bottled gas whereas we're on supplied gas constantly, so we don't have that issue of running out.

Speaker 1: 1:33

Yes, I had bad luck For the last three houses that we've built. We were one of the first houses in that subdivision and somehow they didn't have natural gas, so we had to get bottled gas.

Speaker 2: 1:43

Such a pain, three times Such a pain, when you forget you're running low and then you have cold showers.

Speaker 1: 1:50

Yes, so what usually happens is I operate on one bottle in, one bottle out, so there's always two bottles, but somehow we managed to run out of two bottles at once. I don't know how that happened. I ordered one over two weeks ago and it took a very long time to be delivered Two weeks, what the hell? Yeah, and that's what started making me think that is there another alternative?

Speaker 1: 2:13

Yeah, yeah. So when I started looking into it, apparently there is a new product called Heat Pump Hot Water, yes, yes, what do you know about it so far?

Speaker 2: 2:22

Well, I don't know too much. I just had a quick chat with the plumber that you just had on the previous episode, and so basically what he was saying is it's Heat Pump Hot Water Cylinder, so it's heated up by a heat pump so it will run on electricity rather than running on the gas side of things, however, the input of power you put in, you get more litres of hot water coming out of that cylinder so it can heat 10 times as much hot water than a normal cylinder can using less power. Is basically my summary of the conversation I just had with a plumber.

Speaker 1: 3:06

That I didn't really understand, but yeah, and that's the point right, because a lot of people that are listening to our show are everyday folks like you and I and they're not really specialists. And look, guys, if you've got any comments about this, please feel free to reach out to us. But our understanding is the heat pump hot water is the way to go and it is eligible for those green home loans. So a lot of banks are offering 0% and 1% home loans and you can borrow money to get it installed.

Speaker 1: 3:33

So, a quick quote by Google tells me that Bunnings even sell those products. Oh wow, you can buy a unit between $6,000 to $8,000. And the installation of it could be between $4,000 to $6,000 as well, so under $12,000 to $15,000. And apparently you can make your money back within two years. Yeah, by saving on power costs, by saving on power costs, by saving on power costs and also by saving money on rising gas. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:57

Well, hence why you can get the energy or green loan from the banks, because it's obviously an energy efficient product. So anything that is going to be energy efficient or, you know, make New Zealand more green, then the banks are backing that side of things with the 0% or the 1% side of things. So if you are thinking about upgrading your heating or hot water system at home, there are loans out there at really good rates for you to tap into.

Speaker 1: 4:30

And if you don't want to get caught out in the middle of your shower, like I did, by cold water springing upon you.

Speaker 2: 4:37

That's Zipaniso style, right there.

Speaker 1: 4:40

Definitely a huge bonus to you. So that was the episode about the heat pumps versus gas, hot water yeah, efficiencies, costs, and yeah, just guys, go and do some research, apparently we are running out of gas. And yeah, just guys, go and do some research, apparently we are running out of gas. So in the next, you know, 20 years to 30 years, the gas will just continue to increase in cost. There are ways for you to save money.

Speaker 2: 5:04

And there are loans to support you by upgrading as well.

Speaker 1: 5:08

Yeah, why not Awesome? Thank you, Kunj. Thank you Bye.