Gas Heaters vs. Electric Heaters
Choosing between getting a gas or electric water heater? This decision will affect your comfort, safety, and bills.
First off, we love our showers. This means we want to know how it affects our comfort. Don't rush into making a choice, take your time and learn. In this article, we break down all the facts.
Let's start with a quick comparison:
1. Is Gas Cleaner than Electricity?
Gas is cleaner than electricity. But it is not 100% clean. Gas is still a fossil fuel that has a negative climate impact. But gas has a lower carbon footprint than electricity in Singapore.
Why?
Singapore gets over 95% of its electricity from gas. That means we get electricity by burning gas at a power station.
Any appliance that runs on gas skips the power station. That is why a gas heater has a lower carbon footprint.
What other heaters have a low carbon footprint?
Renewable energy heaters also have low carbon footprints. Solar heaters and heat pump heaters are true energy savers. They use free heat in the air or free radiation from the sun.
Note: You can only use your NEA climate vouchers on heat pumps, and not gas heaters.
2. NEA: New Energy Saver Ticks
The long awaited tick-system by NEA was launched in 2025. This is great news for us. It means we now have a clear grading system to find out how energy saving heaters are.
More ticks = higher efficiency = lower bills.
If you don't see these stickers on heaters yet, it is because this system is so new that the stickers have not yet been launched.
How to get 4 ticks?
It is not just the power source that makes a heater 4-ticks. Some electric heaters have 4-ticks too.
Look at the table below and you will notice "water-saving":
• 4-tick heaters are water saving
• 1-tick heaters are not water saving
What does this mean for your shower?
It is a trade off. If you get a 4-tick heater, you will get lower water pressure.
3. Wait.. If I get a 4-tick heater, I cannot use a Rain shower?
That is correct. A rain shower won't work well with a water-saving heater. Rain showers work better with high-pressure 1-tick heaters. Be clear about this early on before you buy, so you do not get disappointed later.
Check out the video below. Even on some HDB sink taps, you can see how hot water pressure from gas heaters are lower than cold water pressure. Rain showers have a higher flow rate than sink taps. That means this low-pressure effect will be more obvious.
How to decide?
Get your priorities right before you go shopping. Do you care more about energy saving? Or do you value performance and comfort? If you want luxury 5-star water pressure, you may be better off getting a one-tick heater.
There are no wrong answers here. It depends on what you prefer.
4. Is Gas Cheaper to Run than Electric?
If you only compare gas and electric, gas is cheaper to run. Heat pumps of course, have the lowest running cost. But this article is only about Gas vs Electric. More about heat pumps here.
The lower running cost of a gas heater comes at the cost of a lower flow rate of 5 lit/min. What does 5 lit/min feel like? It is close to the water pressure of an instant heater.
Tips when comparing:
• Make sure you are doing an apple-to-apple comparison
• Check: is the flow rate the same?
• Check: is the hot water temperature the same?
Some comparisons only focus on how much you can save (see below). They don't tell you the trade offs, like lower water pressure and lower temperature. But this is important, because it affects your shower.
Don't get misled.
Read Reviews from Fellow Singaporeans
I can relate to the review above.. because this is what my own bill looks like. I cook only once a day but easily clock 100+ kWh.
My next door neighbour is a very old-school auntie who has never believed in the price of piped gas from day one. Every few months, she gets a new barrel of LPG rolled in her front door.
I still prefer my modern comforts, but her bills are definitely lower than mine. I've seen it. The truth is, you never know until you start using and measuring the cost on your own. Or you can check out online reviews. Which brings me to another point.
4-3. HDB and Condo gas heaters are not the same
You read that right. HDB gas heaters and condo gas heaters look the same, but they are not the same. They don't even function the same way:
• Condo gas heaters support a higher flow rate
• Condo gas heaters cost over two times more than a HDB gas heater
• Condo gas heaters can supply both baths and the kitchen
• HDB gas heater: running cost is low because flow rate is low.
• Condo gas heater: running cost is high because flow rate is high.
4-4. Why do people change their condo gas heater to electric storage?
Condo gas are 8 lit/min, but they don't have the water pressure of a storage heater's 10 lit/min. As a result, the problems with condo gas heaters are:
• Takes a long time to get hot water
• Waste a lot of cold water before the hot water reaches you
• Unstable temperature
• Unstable pressure
With all these problems, why do condos still pre-install them?
That is a great question.. which brings us to the next topic:
5. Biases to be Aware of
5-1. Bias #1: The Developer's Objective
Condo developers in Singapore must meet criteria set by BCA's Green Mark scheme. This makes most of them go for heaters with more than 3 ticks.
This narrows down the options to these three.
Remember, the developer aims to:
• Sell you condos
• Maximise profit on the sale of the condos
Why they won't give you heat pumps?
Heat pumps have the 'best' running cost. But the price is too high for the developer to make a decent profit.
Before you get upset, let's be fair and put yourself in the their shoes. If you were a developer, you would probably do the same.
Developers will spend on things you can admire in the showflat. Branded taps, basins, expensive kitchen appliances. Back-end appliances like water heaters don't get the spotlight.
It's nothing personal, it's just business.
Why not tankless heaters?
Developers need one unit to supply hot water to the whole-house. Condo gas heaters can do this.
Tankless heaters can only supply one bathroom at a time, so you need 2 heaters. If developers use tankless heaters, their costs will double.
5-2. Bias #2: The Gas Supplier's Objective
City Energy (was City Gas) has been our national piped town gas provider for years. Till today, they are indirectly government-owned through Temasek. Their objective is to sell us gas.
To achieve this, they have a deep marketing budget to promote all kinds of gas appliances. Bundle deals are common: clothes dryer + hob + kitchen hood + gas heaters.
Personal take: I would rather go for a heater from a company that specialises in heaters. Or a hob from a company that specialises in hobs.
The point is, City Energy is gas company, not a heater company. They specialise in selling you gas, not heaters.
Why gas heaters in Singapore aren't great..
Our gas heaters aren't the same high-pressure gas heaters you see overseas. Aligned with our national goals of saving water, they have lower water pressure and flow.
It is not a bad thing, but again, you need to know what you are buying. We need transparency to make an informed decision.
6. As Homeowners, What Can We Do?
Do the Research Yourself.
If you want something good, you have to find it on your own. Do your own homework, and you won't get sucked into someone else's agenda.
Popular alternatives to gas heaters:
These are the heaters people use to replace their gas heaters.
HDB: Tankless electric heaters are a popular in-between solution. They have decent flow rates, good enough if you don't need a luxury rain shower. They are also more energy efficient than electric storage heaters.
Condos: The most popular gas heater swap is done with the Gen 6 electric storage heater. Condo-dwellers prioritise comfort and water pressure.
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