Natural Gas vs LPG: Which is More Cost-Effective for Your Fireplace?

Many people heat their homes with gas, and have gas for outdoor heaters and fireplaces.  Gas is still a key part of building new homes. The decision you need to make is, which is  more cost-effective and energy efficient to use? Natural gas direct to the home, or bottled LPG gas?

At jetmaster Victoria we help homeowners find the right choice for their gas appliances, what suits their lifestyle, their style and their wallet. In this guide, we break down the real costs of natural gas vs LPG, from installation and connection fees through to ongoing running costs.

This way, you can make a confident, informed decision before you invest.

What is Natural Gas?

Natural gas is a fossil fuel. It is primarily methane formed over millions of years from buried organic matter that has been subjected to intense heat and pressure. It is colourless, odourless and lighter than air.

It is extracted by drilling underground into reservoir rock formations and is often associated with oil deposits. It is a cleaner energy source than coal or oil, however it is still a fossil fuel and can have some environmental impacts if it leaks.

In Australia, the largest producer of natural gas is Western Australia. The Carnarvon Basin is an offshore gas production site and the Perth Basin is offshore and just north of the city of Perth.

In Victoria, we have the Gippsland & Otway Basins, located just offshore. They supply the eastern domestic market for natural gas.

In 2025, Australia produced around 6 123 petajoules (Pj) of natural gas and exported approximately 4 509 Pj as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). This is over 70% of Australia’s production being exported. (source- https://www.elgas.com.au/elgas-knowledge-hub/business-lpg/australian-natural-gas-statistics-2025-data-forecast/)

Gas is measured in megajoules, MJ. This is a unit of energy used to measure gas consumption. Your appliances will have a usage rating of MJ/h, or how many megajoules of gas they use per hour. The lower the number, the more efficient your gas appliance is.

How Does Natural Gas Get to Your Home?

Once it is extracted from the ground and processed, it is transported through high-pressure transmission pipelines. It is then distributed into homes through lower pressure underground mains lines, which then connect to your house via a meter. This measures usage before feeding directly into your home for gas cooking, or other appliances.

A chemical odourant is added to gas to give it the tell-tale “rotten egg” smell so we know when there is a gas leak. It is often transported through high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes to your meter.

While distribution companies maintain the gas supply lines, the homeowner is responsible for any gas leaks or issues from the meter into your house.

How Much Does Natural Gas Cost?

The cost of natural gas is rising due to world events, so finding the best deal for you is important.

There are many sites online that can help you compare prices from many different retailers to ensure you get the best deal for you.

Using finder.com.au , the average price of gas in Victoria is $242 per quarter or 91.44c a day. This price will increase if you’re in colder parts of the state, like the Highlands, as you need more gas for heating.

What is LPG

LPG stands for Liquefied Petroleum Gas. It is a flammable mix of propane and butane and is used as a clean-burning fuel. It is stored as a liquid under pressure in cylinders and is used for heating, cooking and for cars as autogas. You’ve probably more often seen it in small, squat bottles, powering a bbq.

LPG burns hotter and has a higher energy content than mains gas. It also operates at a higher pressure than mains gas and, unlike mains gas, LPG is heavier than air.

How Do You Get LPG Into Your Home?

LPG is stored as a liquid in 45kg bottles. They are delivered to your home and connected to a regulator via an automatic changeover valve. A licensed gas fitter must install the system. You can change the bottles yourself once the system is installed, but many people have their gas supplier do so when they deliver new bottles.

Your gas bottles must be stored outside in a well-ventilated area and must be kept upright. You check for leaks just like you would for a BBQ, by applying soapy water to the connections. If there are bubbles, then you have a leak.

Because of the different pressures involved, you can’t interchange from mains gas to LPG bottles. Make sure your appliances are rated for LPG gas.

When the indicator on the regulator turns red, it means the active bottle is empty, and it is time to order a replacement, allowing the system to use the backup.

How Much Does LPG Cost?

In Australia, for residential 45kg bottles, they typically cost between $125 and $160 for a refill. This price can change depending on location. Remote areas of Australia for example would have higher transportation costs associated.

If you use a lot of gas you would obviously use more cylinders and that would push your annual costs up.

Setting up a new home LPG system can set you back anywhere from $1500 to $4500 depending who you are serviced by.

The Average Gas Usage of Fireplaces

JetMaster are experts in the installation of gas fireplaces and gas log fireplaces. We know how efficient they are and how effective they are at warming a room.

A space heater, with vents in each room, is one of the highest users of gas energy, often burning through 40 MJ/h.

Our gas log fires are much more efficient than that, using an average of between 20MJ/h and 34 MJ/h and can quickly heat up an area around 100 sq/m.

• A 45kg LPG bottle holds around 2 205 MJ.
• If you use your gas log fireplace for 4 hours a night, you’ll get around 16 days usage from your LPG bottle before it needs to be replaced. These stats can change depending on the setting of your fire and how long you use it each night. The lower the setting the longer it will last. The more hours you use your fire, the less number of days you will have with your LPG bottle.
• If your LPG refill costs $140 per bottle, that’s about $280 per month.

If your gas is from the mains:

• A medium sized gas log fireplace can use an average of 25 MJ/h of gas
• The average cost of gas is 3.81 c per MJ.
• Your fireplace would cost around 95 cents per hour to run.
• If you run your fireplace for 4 hours a night, that’s $3.80 per night.
• For 16 days you’re looking at $60, for the full month around $120.

Of course these are just average figures and would not reflect the true costs accurately. However, you can see that it is much more cost effective to be connected to the mains gas supply to run your gas log fire.

LPG gas bottles do have their place if you have a majority of electrical appliances, and don’t use gas as often. LPG has the benefit of not having a constant supply charge just to be connected. You only get a new bottle when the old bottle runs out.

Speak with our team at Jetmaster and we can give you a much more accurate figure of the costs involved with gas log fires, or what is the best setup for your situation. If you only have a gas heater out on the back deck, LPG would be the best choice, for example.