Gas is a unit of measurement for the computational effort required to execute operations on Ethereum and similar blockchain networks. Users pay gas fees to compensate validators for processing transactions.
Gas components include Gas Limit (maximum gas units for a transaction), Gas Price (amount paid per gas unit in Gwei), and Total Fee (Gas Used multiplied by Gas Price).
Factors affecting gas prices include network congestion, transaction complexity, time sensitivity, and Layer 1 vs Layer 2 usage.
Tips for reducing gas costs: Use Layer 2 solutions, time transactions during low congestion, set appropriate gas limits, batch transactions when possible, and use gas tracking tools.