Heating options are far greater now than they were for our parents. We can choose from electrical, gas, super-efficient wood burners, gas fires, heated concrete floors, central hot-water heating, heat pumps and air conditioning units, and home ventilation systems. And about time, too!
New Zealand homes have been woefully underheated for years, causing illness and poor health. Make your home warm, healthy and comfortable, and plan it properly from the start.
Here are a few points to consider:
- The World Health Organisation recommends 21°C for a healthy living environment and a minimum of 17°C in bedrooms.
- ‘Passive’ heating is the starting point. This is incorporating warmth (and cooling) into your home through design – either by using heat sinks in your house (concrete or brick walls and/or floors), insulation to keep the warmth in (and heat out in summer), orientation towards the sun, shade over windows in the summer, etc.
- Insulation is the most important thing. It helps cut heating bills and is better for the environment because it requires no ongoing energy. Ensure you have an abundance of insulation – Building Code requirements are a minimum, not a guideline and it’s easy and not expensive to increase your levels.
- Modern heating systems are infinitely better at heating your home and more energy efficient than the traditional Kiwi approach of huddling around a bar heater and putting another sweater on…
- There is no truly ‘green’ heating system – all rely on some form of energy and energy production of any kind is detrimental to the environment to some degree – but smart home design can go a long way to defraying energy costs.
- Modern wood-burners – either fireplaces or pellet burners – are extremely efficient and emit minimal fumes and when combined with a wetback, can provide enormous amounts of hot water for washing and underfloor heating.
- Un-flued gas heaters are expensive to run and potentially dangerous – they emit toxic gases and add moisture to interior atmospheres. Modern gas fireplaces are both efficient, healthy and environmentally-friendly and look fantastic.
Choosing a heat source
It’s important that whatever system you install is big enough to heat your home properly – too small a unit will result in expensive bills and insufficient heating.
Central heating
The modern approach to heating is ‘whole house heating’ which can be achieved through Central heating. Good insulation and an energy-efficient heating system will heat all areas of the house at a reasonable price and help keep your family healthier through the cold months of the year. Installing central heating is never cheap, but high up-front costs are usually outweighed by lower running costs and lovely warm homes.
In addition, it is highly efficient, environmentally-friendly and easy to control. It is the preferred method of heating across two-thirds of the world.
The type of central heating method used in your home needs to reflect not only your needs, but also the availability of fuel in your area so that your system is as easy to maintain and remains as cost effective as possible.
Can work through warm water underfloor heating or slim water-radiators, or both, with the potential added advantage of domestic hot tap water and swimming pool heating all from the one heat source. Gas or diesel boilers are the most common heat sources chosen, on account of their efficiency and lower capital cost. There are now beautifully designed radiators that look nothing like those we’re familiar with from our early school days.
Modern wood burners and wood pellet burners
Are inexpensive to run, energy efficient, and surprisingly environmentally friendly.
As a plus, they can be connected to a wetback, which will provide hot water at no extra cost apart from the installation. (Bear in mind, the payback time for installation of a wetback depends on the frequency of use of the woodburner.)
Free-standing models are generally more efficient, but if you have an existing open fireplace, you have the option to renovate that instead (if you’re allowed to keep it – check with your local council on air quality regulations).
Centrally ducted air heating
Is when the heat is delivered into every room from a central heating system. The benefits of this system are that every room in the house is heated to a programmable constant temperature; there is flexibility in where the heat enters a room (floor, ceiling, even walls) which creates less disruption to space flow; there is good indoor air quality; it is custom made for each home’s heating needs, and it is a safe and healthy way to heat your home.
Underfloor heating
Provides radiant heat from the ground up which proponents claim as the most comfortable and even warmth of any heating system. During construction of your home specialised hot water pipes are laid in the concrete slab, in areas called zones. These zones which may be bedrooms, living areas or bathrooms, are controlled by a pump and a control unit which is located near to the hot water cylinder. Each zone can be individually controlled and easily programmed.
These work best with concrete floors or tiles. Carpets will reduce the level of heat entering the room. Electrical systems are cheaper to put in initially, but running costs are higher. Your alternative is warm water heating. Hot-water heat pumps and even ground-source or geothermal heat pumps are very efficient (and therefore cheap) to run but in the case of ground-source heating/geothermal, a large upfront cost.
Specific areas can be targeted; especially bathrooms, and timers are usually included so floors can be heated only when needed, or run at a higher temperature when required and lowered during nighttime hours.
Solar-assisted underfloor heating considered one of the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly options, it is very economical to run but is a base heat source, boosted by alternative methods like wetbacks on woodburners or heat pump hot water systems. There can be ongoing maintenance costs and with much of New Zealand’s power created by renewable resources, the environmental argument is a bit more tenuous.
Don’t forget to consider Heat Pumps/Air-Conditioning as an option, too, especially for retrofit.
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