What's local about gas in Whangārei
Firstgas in town, LPG beyond
Firstgas names Whangārei in its natural gas network area. For homes outside that network, Firstgas itself points people to LPG, and a house can only connect to mains gas where it fronts onto a distribution pipe.
Gas heating is uncommon
At the 2023 Census, fixed gas heaters were a main heating type in just 4.7% of Whangārei District dwellings, about half the national 9.5%. Wood burners were the main type in 34.7%.
Damper homes than average
At the 2023 Census, 3.1% of Whangārei District dwellings were always damp and 20% sometimes damp, against 2.3% and 15.8% nationally. The Gas Hub warns that unflued gas heaters add moisture and dampness, so a flued heater suits a damp house better.
Meters near the boundary
Firstgas usually puts the meter, with its isolation valve, on the front of the house or down the side near the front, and sometimes on the boundary itself. It recommends new meters sit as close to the boundary as practical.
If you smell gas
- Move everyone out, and keep phones, switches and flames away from the smell.
- On mains gas, turn the meter valve clockwise until the handle is level with the ground, but only if you can reach it safely. Some older valves need a spanner.
- On LPG, turn the gas off at the bottles if that's safe.
- Mains gas leak: ring Firstgas on 0800 802 332, any hour. LPG: your gas retailer or a gasfitter.
- Fire, explosion or anyone at risk: ring 111 first.
Getting a Whangārei home onto natural gas
Firstgas connects homes whose property fronts onto one of its distribution pipes. It won't process an application until you've nominated a gas retailer, and it will discuss where the meter goes. Then a gasfitter installs the pipework and appliances, and a certifying gasfitter commissions and certifies the work.
For a califont, ask about the gas pipe early: Rheem says a continuous flow heater needs a larger pipe from the meter than most storage heaters. Our califonts and gas cylinder pages compare the two.
A certificate is only as good as who signed it
In October 2026, PGDB reported that a repeat offender was fined $14,000 for unauthorised gasfitting and plumbing, including installing a gas water heater at a home and handing the owner a Gas Safety Certificate he wasn't authorised to issue. A certificate of compliance may only come from someone who did or supervised the work and is authorised to certify that kind of gasfitting. Look up the name on the certificate on the PGDB register, and check the licence is current and covers gasfitting.
What you're owed after gas work
Every connected gas job earns a Gas Safety Certificate, issued by the person who connected it or their supervisor no later than 20 working days afterwards. A new appliance, or an addition or alteration, also needs a certificate of compliance before the job is complete; a straight swap for an equivalent appliance makes that one optional. Our certificates guide untangles the names.
Questions for a Whangārei gasfitter
- Is our street on the Firstgas network, or are we on bottles?
- Is this heater flued?
- Whose name will be on the certificate, and can we check it on the register?
- Will this be low-risk, general or high-risk gasfitting?
What we would do
Before any gas work, take the full name of the person doing it and of whoever will sign the certificate, and look both up on the PGDB register. In a damp Whangārei house, choose a flued heater over an unflued one. And on mains or bottles alike, learn where the gas turns off before you need to.