Geyser Electricity and Gas Bill: How Much Does It Cost?
Most geyser pages do not tell you how many units a geyser really uses. Here are simple numbers for electric geysers, what drives the gas bill, and how to cut both this winter.
Updated 14 November 2026
How many units does an electric geyser use?
One unit = 1000 W for one hour. So:
- 1500 W geyser: 1.5 units per hour while the element is on
- 2000 W geyser: 2 units per hour
- 3000 W geyser: 3 units per hour
The element does not run all day. It switches off when the water reaches the thermostat setting.
Units to heat one full tank
Heating water from about 15 °C to 60 °C needs roughly:
- 15 litres: about 0.8 unit
- 30 litres: about 1.6 units
- 50 litres: about 2.6 units
- 80 litres: about 4.2 units
- 100 litres: about 5.2 units
In Quetta or Islamabad the tap water is colder, so add 15 to 25%. To find the cost, multiply the units by the per-unit rate on your electricity bill. A family that heats one 50 litre tank a day uses roughly 80 units a month for the geyser, plus standby loss if it is left on.
How much gas does a gas geyser use?
A gas geyser needs the same heat for the same water, but gas is usually cheaper than electricity for it. The big waste is the pilot flame on an older tank geyser, which burns gas 24 hours a day even when nobody uses hot water. Pakistani gas bills use slabs, so this extra use can move the whole bill into a costlier slab in winter.
Ways to cut it: keep the flame low, switch off the geyser when away, use a geyser timer, or choose an instant gas geyser that burns only while water runs.
LPG geyser
Some geysers can run on LPG cylinders where there is no Sui gas. LPG costs more than piped gas per unit of heat, so an LPG geyser should be an instant type or used on a timer. Check the product page for the gas type and have the jet set for LPG.
Ten ways to lower your geyser bill
- Set the thermostat to 50 to 60 °C, not maximum.
- Use a timer and heat only before baths.
- Switch the geyser off at night.
- Choose the right size; a too-big tank wastes heat.
- Wrap hot water pipes.
- Fix dripping hot taps.
- Flush sediment once a year; scale slows heating.
- On solar, heat at midday with a low watt geyser.
- Use a low-flow shower head.
- With gas, keep the pilot small or go instant.
