Home Energy Solutions

Energy supply and use is becoming a more considered decision-making process than it once was, given climate change implications around things like problematic energy sources (fossil fuels), increasing rainfall, decreasing rainfall, increasing environmental heat and concerns around energy supply, not to mention increased costs in a cost-of-living inflationary period.

Much of the power needs of a home are specifically for heating, so have a read through our Heating and Air-Con page here…

Array of alternative energy photovoltaic solar panels on roof of residential house

Every home uses electricity and the amount we us is increasing as things like home heating, transport and devices become more reliant on electricity. But how that electricity is delivered is also changing – it’s no longer just wires running into your house, with options such as solar voltaic cells on your roof, wind generation, and MicroCHP systems, which use gas to generate electricity and the surplus heat to warm the house and/or hot water.

The number of things in our homes that use electricity is growing by the day. How many cellphone chargers do you have in your home? Internet connected devices? Heatpumps? TVs? Electricity use is forecast to increase enormously in coming years.

If you generate your own electricty, you can feed excess back into the national grid and watch your meter run backswards (though returns are minimal).

There are now home batteries so you can recharge your new electric car or run your house in event of a line outage, and you can now manage your energy use so that things like hot water cylinders and clothes washers and driers can use the electricity at night when it’s not needed for other uses and is cheaper, maximising your energy efficiencies.

Solar Hot Water Heating

Water heating accounts for about 40% of your electricity bill and this can be considerably reduced with a solar water heating system, though installation of these systems is increasingly being substituted with photovoltaic cell solar energy generators.

If you still want to install solar water heating, the key parts are the collectors which sit on the roof, and the storage cylinder. Solar water heaters can be combined with other heating methods such as wet-backs, and gas.

Solar water heaters come in two main forms: thermo-syphon or pumped. Thermosyphon systems use the temperature of the water in the collector to induce circulation to the storage cylinder which must be above the collector. Pumped systems use a small, automatic pump and the cylinder can be anywhere in the house. Both types incorporate methods to protect the system in frosty weather.

In very cold areas further protection can be provided by two stage systems in which the collector and exposed pipes are loaded with anti-freeze solution and the heat is transferred into the cylinder via a heat exchanger.
Solar collectors work best pointing North at an angle equal to the latitude but considerable variation is permissible with only a slight loss of performance.

In some situations the collectors can be built into the roof to provide a less conspicuous installation. When considering solar water heating you should get advice from suppliers who are members of the Solar Industries Association.

Electrical systems and wiring

You’d be surprised at just how much wire goes through a modern house . . . but given the number of electrical ﬁttings we all use these days, you need it! If you’re building from scratch, this is where good planning can really pay dividends – think not only about what you want now but what you may need in the future.

Pre-Wiring

Lighting, entertainment, internet access, home automation and security are all elements of the electrical ﬁtout that may need specialist attention, so consult widely during your planning. For lights, light switches and power points, walk through the plans with your designer and project manager to ensure that they’re in positions that are convenient and functional.

There are a couple of points to consider: check you have sufﬁcient power points through the house and check you have high speed wifi.

New home entertainment systems run via wifi, so no more cables, but you will need modems and possibly range extenders through the house; you can put music throughout the home from one central source or run different sources into different rooms from the same system, not to mention internet TV from different channels into different rooms with modern internet capable TVs – no more fights over what to watch!

Photovoltaic power generation is now becoming an affordable option with companies offering no deposit and time payments, although the payback on the unit can be many years. There are new technologies being introduced all the time, too, with electric cars becoming commonplace, and new Home Batteries – this is an area that needs lots of research and careful consideration.

Future-proof for new light ﬁttings, appliances or heating units, and install appropriate wiring (think outdoor heating, stereo speaker wire, outdoor lights, etc.).

To prevent interference and avoid hazards, your electrician will need to ensure that all your different cable runs are protected from one another. Consider using specialist installers for Home Theatre/AV set ups and computer cabling.

There are very good, and surprisingly affordable, Smart Home options and this is the perfect time to install – have a look at the options on our Smart Home page here.

Natural Gas Heating

Traditionally, there have been a number of reasons to consider gas as an energy source in your home – it’s been a practical option for heating and hot water systems for decades. Gas is relatively low on emissions compared to coal or oil, but it certainly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and ongoing supply is not a problem -New Zealand has plenty of locally extracted gas to continue the supply to the domestic market.

Gas is a hydrocarbon just like petrol, consisting primarily of methane but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and/or hydrogen sulfide. There is some concern that small amounts of gas leak even when the taps are turned off. While the small amount isn’t enough to risk explosion, there is some evidence that the noxious chemicals can be health-threatening.

Gas is used in many homes around the country for heating, cooking and hot water, although its residue is CO2 and water so ensure your system is flued. It has been an excellent method for hot water and house heating and especially for hob cooking, though Induction hobs are now increasingly replacing gas as the cooking method of choice.

If you don’t have access to natural gas piped to your home, there is always the option of using LPG in the form of gas bottles, which can be housed conveniently outside the home and piped to speciﬁc gas appliances and costs no more than piped gas.

Given that gas appliances must be installed by a qualiﬁed gas ﬁtter, it makes sense to employ a plumber or gas ﬁtter at the design stage; they can offer advice on options which could save you thousands of dollars. Although your professional fitter will cover all the regulatory and safety issues, there are a number of points for you to consider, for instance:

Will you add gas heating or cooking to your outdoor areas, and how are you going to supply this gas?
Is the gas ﬂued correctly to avoid moisture build-up and duct any potentially harmful gases from your home?