Gas hot water heats water by burning fuel, either keeping a tank at temperature or heating on demand as water passes through. It recovers quickly, it delivers at full flow, and on properties with mains gas already connected it is often the practical choice.
Mains gas reaches some Sunshine Coast suburbs and not others, so the first question on any gas job here is what the property actually has connected. It also burns fuel, which produces emissions, and gas storage loses heat from the tank like any other tank. Both of those are stated plainly here because both are true, and because our current site says otherwise. Neither is a reason to avoid gas; both are things you should know when comparing it against the alternatives.
Natural gas or LPG
Natural gas is piped to the property and metered. Where it is available, it is generally the cheaper of the two per unit of energy and the more convenient, because it does not run out.
LPG arrives in bottles. That brings practicalities: cost per unit is generally higher, you have to manage refills or exchanges, and running out mid-shower is a real event rather than a theoretical one.
Appliances are configured for one or the other. A unit set up for natural gas will not simply run on LPG, and conversion is not always possible or economic.
Storage or continuous flow
Gas storage keeps a tank at temperature, ready to use, and reheats after it is drawn down. It delivers at full flow and will not falter when a second tap opens. It can run out, and it loses heat from the stored water between uses.
Continuous flow heats water only while it is being drawn. It does not run out and it has no standby loss, but it is limited by flow rate: how much water it can raise to temperature per minute. Open enough outlets at once and the temperature drops.
Neither is better in the abstract. The question is whether your household's constraint is total volume or simultaneous demand.
The most common surprise on a gas hot water job is that the existing gas line cannot supply the new unit. A larger continuous flow appliance demands considerably more gas than a small storage heater, and the line and meter were sized for what was there before.
Gas appliances also need ventilation and clearances, and those get compromised over the years by fences, decking, storage and plants appearing around what used to be open space.
Both are assessed before quoting, because both change the job substantially and neither is something anyone wants to discover on installation day.
Water pressure, flow and temperature control
Continuous flow units need a minimum flow to activate, so a very low-flow tap can fail to trigger the burner at all.
Simultaneous demand is the practical sizing question: two showers, or a shower and the kitchen, and whether the unit carries both without the temperature sagging.
Temperature controllers are worth asking about, particularly in a household with young children, since they let you set delivery temperature at the outlets rather than relying on mixing at the tap.
Common gas faults
Pilot and ignition problems, usually a thermocouple or debris around the burner.
Gas control valve failure, which typically presents as a system that will not fire at all.
On continuous flow, error codes on the controller, which are manufacturer-specific and worth sending us before a visit because some indicate a reset and others a part.
As with any system, if you can smell gas near the appliance, leave it alone and call from somewhere else.
Against electric storage, gas generally recovers faster and, where mains gas is connected, often costs less to run.
Against a heat pump, gas has a lower upfront cost in most cases and no positioning or noise constraint, but it burns fuel, and a heat pump moving heat rather than generating it uses substantially less energy per unit of hot water.
Against solar, gas is unaffected by roof orientation and weather, which is a genuine advantage on a shaded or poorly oriented property.
Which of those trade-offs matters is a decision about your property and your priorities, and the comparison page lays them out side by side.
What is the difference between natural gas and LPG?
Natural gas is piped to the property and billed on usage. LPG comes in bottles that you refill or have exchanged. Appliances are configured for one or the other and are not interchangeable without conversion. LPG also changes the practicalities: you can run out, and the cost per unit of energy is generally higher.
Does gas hot water produce emissions?
Yes. Gas water heaters burn fuel and that combustion produces greenhouse emissions. Australian Government guidance is clear on this. Anyone telling you a gas system produces none is mistaken. Whether that matters to your decision is yours to weigh, but you should weigh it with accurate information.
Does a gas storage tank lose heat?
Yes. Any tank keeping water hot around the clock loses heat to its surroundings, and gas storage is no exception. That standby loss is one of the arguments for continuous flow, which heats only while a tap is running. It is not a reason to avoid gas storage, but it is a real characteristic of it.
Storage or continuous flow for gas?
Storage keeps a volume ready and recovers after it is drawn down, so it can run out but delivers at full flow. Continuous flow does not run out but is limited by how much water it can heat per minute, so simultaneous outlets are the constraint. Which suits depends on whether your household's problem is volume or timing.
Will my gas line supply a bigger unit?
Not necessarily, and this catches people out. A larger continuous flow unit can demand more gas than an existing line was sized to deliver, and the meter matters too. It is exactly the sort of thing a site assessment establishes before the quote is agreed rather than on installation day.
Why does my pilot light keep going out?
Usually a dirty or failing thermocouple, the safety device that senses the flame and keeps the gas flowing. It can also be debris around the burner, wind reaching the pilot on an outdoor unit, or a gas supply issue. Relighting it repeatedly without addressing the cause tends to be a short-lived fix.
RCM works across Sunshine Coast and the hinterland. See the full Sunshine Coast service area for where we work regularly and where we travel on different terms.
