Smell gas, or think it's carbon monoxide?
For a gas smell, turn the gas off at the meter or the cylinder only if that's safe, put out any flames, don't use electrical switches or devices, open the doors and windows and keep people away. Then ring the emergency number on your gas bill. Sydney's mains gas runs on Jemena's network, and your bill names the distributor. Call 000 if there's a fire. Carbon monoxide has no smell: if you suspect it, Energy Safe Victoria says to get everyone out into fresh air, turn off the gas appliances, open up the house and get medical help, dialling 000 in an emergency. Leave the heater off until a gasfitter has checked it.
Where gas heating matters in Sydney
Mild in the city, cold out west
July's mean minimum is 8.9 degrees at Observatory Hill, 5.4 at Penrith and 3.0 at Camden Airport. The colder the suburb, the more hours the heater runs, and the more a skipped service matters.
Frosts and mountain nights
Richmond averages 17 nights a year below zero, and AdaptNSW says the upper Blue Mountains typically sees more than 70 nights below 2 degrees.
Jemena's gas network
Reticulated natural gas reaches Sydney homes through Jemena's network. If you're on LP gas cylinders instead, most show the supplier's emergency contact.
No ESS help for another gas heater
If the old heater is past saving, the NSW Energy Savings Scheme excludes gas space heaters installed from 1 July 2026. The scheme's discount is for high efficiency air conditioners.
Book a gasfitter now if you notice
- A yellow or sooty flame, unless it's a decorative log fire.
- A pilot light that keeps going out, or pops and bangs when it lights.
- Soot marks on the wall or around the heater.
- Headaches, dizziness or nausea that ease once you're out of the house.
- An unflued heater more than 10 years old, which Better Health advises replacing.
- An open-flued Regency i31, Regency F38/FG38 (excluding LP models), Nectre 2000 or Real Flame Pyrotech, which Energy Safe Victoria's alert says not to use until a gasfitter has tested it.
How often, and when, in Sydney
Two years is the minimum, not a target. Seeley says some of its gas heaters need servicing more often, so check the manual for yours. Energy Safe Victoria also says that if the flame changes from its usual colour, a gasfitter must inspect the heater and check it for carbon monoxide leakage.
Timing is the Sydney twist. A heater sits idle through the warm months, then gets switched on hard on the first cold night. An autumn service catches a blocked flue or a dirty burner while there's still time to fix it.
Who can service a gas heater in NSW?
NSW building trade law lists gas fitting as specialist work, alongside electrical wiring, plumbing and air conditioning. Advertising specialist work of any value without a current contractor licence is prohibited, and the ad has to show the licence number.
Before anyone comes, look them up on Service NSW's licence check, which searches by name, licence number, ABN or suburb. Then ask for a gasfitter who services heaters through every Sydney winter. Our national gas heater service page lists what a proper service covers.
Is it the gas heater, or the reverse cycle?
If the heating that's playing up is a reverse cycle split or ducted system, that's an air conditioning job, not a gasfitter's. Mitsubishi Electric says a unit on heat can pause for about 10 minutes to defrost when it's cold and damp outside, which is normal. For anything beyond that, see air conditioning repairs in Sydney.
Yours to do, and the gasfitter's
You can
- Keep curtains, furniture and washing well clear of the heater.
- Switch off the rangehood and bathroom fans while it runs; Energy Safe Victoria says they can draw carbon monoxide into the room.
- Fit a carbon monoxide alarm as a back-up, never instead of a service.
Leave to a licensed installer
- Taking covers off, and anything on the burner, flue or gas controls.
- Testing for carbon monoxide spillage.
- Working out why a heater keeps locking out, and whether it's safe to keep using.
Ask the gasfitter
- What's your NSW licence number?
- Will you test for carbon monoxide spillage and put the result in writing?
- Is the flue clear, and is the heater safe to keep using?
- When should the next service be booked?
What we'd do
What we'd do before winter
We'd book the service in autumn, every second year at the latest, and straight away if the flame turned yellow. We'd fit a carbon monoxide alarm nearby, keep the rangehood off while the heater runs, and ask for the carbon monoxide result in writing. Gas heating specialists who cover your part of Sydney will see the job, and if none of them takes it within 48 hours, specialists elsewhere in NSW may see it too.
