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Energy efficiency
Natural gas is the most efficient fuel available for domestic, commercial and industrial use in New Zealand.
Consumer magazine in October 2004 said “in Auckland, Wellington and Hamilton you will save money if you use gas for as many services as you can. Using gas for water heating and home heating costs less than using electricity alone, even though you have to pay two fixed charges. The more energy your household uses, the more you will potentially save by using gas.”
Gas produces fewer emissions and is highly energy efficient. It can heat water twice as quickly as electricity at almost one third of the cost and when maintained, it is often 80 – 90% more efficient.
In addition, the New Zealand government is investigating the implementation of Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for gas appliances.
While the gas industry supports energy efficiency it has concerns both about how such efficiency standards can be applied to gas appliances and also the process involved in developing these regulations.
*Cost savings based on natural gas prices in the Auckland region – 600 hours of heating at $0.15 kWH for electricty and natural gas charges of $0.79m³ and daily charge of $0.69. This information can be found through a variety of publicly available sources such as the Sustainable Energy Authority in Victoria, manufacturers product specifications and a European study on labelling and other measures for heating systems in dwellings.
The calculations were then based on:
A typical new home with R2.5 ceiling insulation and R1.0 wall insulation in Melbourne.
24 hours heating up to 18°C for in-slab heating; 8 hours heating to 21°C for all others.
The electricity costs are based on Meridian Energy Tariffs (Waikato Residential Rate as at 1/4/05) and the Gas costs are based on WEL networks tariffs. Supply charges are not included.
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