Heating your home this winter energy-efficiently

Heating your home this winter with energy-efficiency in mind

As winter approaches, many New Zealanders will switch on their heaters to keep the chill away. However, it won’t take too many high power bills to realise that simply switching on heaters is not the most energy-efficient or cost-effective way to keep your home warm in winter.

Albrecht Stoecklein, Sales Manager - Specifiers of Right House, the only New Zealand company that provides easy one-stop, end-to-end solutions for an energy-efficient home recommends the following winter warming tips.

The most important factor to think about is not what systems you should use to generate heat, but rather how well your home is insulated. Thermal insulation is the key passive design component of an energy efficient home, as it keeps the heat in. Think of it as your home’s ‘thermal envelope’.

Simple measures such as installing insulation in your ceilings, walls and floors, and double glazing on your windows ensures that your house’s thermal envelope is tight. Also once installed insulation has no ongoing running costs! The heat stays in, and you and your family stay warm. However, if your house’s thermal envelope is not working properly, it’s going to cost you. Many New Zealand homes would benefit from insulation upgrades. Insulation degrades as it compresses over time becoming less effective. Ensuring your insulation is properly installed is also very important. Gaps in insulation are like throwing money down the drain. Even a 2% gap can result in a 20% reduction in the effectiveness of insulation. Once your house’s thermal envelope is working well, you can be confident that heating systems will operate at their optimum energy-efficiency. Right House can access Energywise grants for New Zealanders whose homes aren’t sufficiently insulated, as part of a new insulation programme to ensure Kiwi homes become better insulated.

Other simple measures which don’t cost anything and will keep your house warm this winter are remembering to close curtains just before it gets dark outside. Heat is quickly lost through windows so closing the curtains early allows for the heat to be captured inside. Stopping draughts is equally important. Check the air tightness of your windows and doors as gaps around the frames are often caused by warped frames and hinges and the fix is very simple. Foam-type strips or compressible ‘V’-shaped strips with self-adhesive backing are available from most hardware stores. The ‘V’-strips have the advantage that they adjust more flexibly to the gap width around the window.

The installation of a hot water cylinder wrap is another energy efficient option. It is simple to do, takes less than 30 minutes and is one of the most effective energy efficient measures for an old cylinder. If your cylinder is warm to the touch then your home will benefit from a wrap. And don’t forget to insulate the hot water pipe coming out from the top of the cylinder.

Looking at ways to add heat to your home? Why not make it an energy-efficient heat pump? Heat pumps work by extracting heat from the surroundings and transfer it into the rooms. They have the added bonus that they only use one third of the electricity of conventional electric heaters. However, it is important to turn it off once the room is warm! Although heat pumps use a lot less energy than normal plug-in electric heaters, if run for 24 hours they will add extra dollars to your power bill. Contrary to popular belief, it takes more energy to keep the house warm over night than let it cool down and heat it up in the morning.

When looking at winter warmers, the key thing to remember is that heating systems don’t work in isolation. By ensuring that all systems in your home are properly working together will you be able to create the most energy efficient solution that will let you relax in a warm, comfortable and cost effective home environment this winter. Right House offers an energy assessment service for your home and can install insulation, heating systems and any other energy efficiency products for you.

For more information, visit www.righthouse.co.nz

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