Is reverse cycle cheaper to run than gas heating?

A gas heater burns fuel and delivers less heat into the room than the fuel contained, because some goes up the flue. A reverse cycle system moves existing heat rather than creating it, so it can deliver three or more units of heat for each unit of electricity. That gap is large enough to overcome the fact that electricity costs more per unit than gas.

What changes the comparison

• Your electricity and gas tariffs, including the daily supply charge on each. Keeping a gas connection for heating alone carries a fixed cost all year.
• Whether you have solar, which makes daytime electric heating dramatically cheaper.
• Climate. Efficiency falls as outdoor temperatures drop, so the advantage narrows in cold zones, though modern units perform far better in cold conditions than older ones.
• Whether you heat the whole house or one zone, since ducted systems lose heat in the ducts.

The connection question

If heating is the last thing using gas at the property, disconnecting removes the daily supply charge entirely, and that fixed cost is a meaningful part of a small gas bill. Several jurisdictions have moved to restrict new gas connections in new homes, so this is also the direction of policy rather than only of cost.