What heating can I get?
If your house was built before 2000 and you have had it insulated under the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart Program or it meets the minimum insulation guidelines you are eligible for a $500 or $1200 funding towards the cost of installing a clean efficient heater in your primary living area if there isn’t one there already.
There are a number of different types of clean efficient heaters that you can get under the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme, these include:
- ENERGY STAR heat pumps
- Wood burners
- Pellet burners
- 4-star AGA-rated flued gas heaters
Clean Heating
‘Clean’ heat refers to heating systems that produce very little or no air-pollution, and are highly efficient to run – such as ENERGY STAR® heat pumps and efficient woodburners, wood pellet stoves, and flued gas heating.
For top efficiency and performance, look for ENERGY STAR®
Better efficiency
While heat pumps are the most efficient way of using electricity to heat your home, some are more efficient than others.
The ENERGY STAR mark is only awarded to the most efficient heat pumps on the market (for both heating and cooling modes). Choosing an ENERGY STAR heat pump could save you $150 a year on running costs, compared to a non-qualified model.
Better performance when the outside temperature drops
Some heat pumps struggle to keep up between 0-5°C, when they are more prone to icing up. That’s why ENERGY STAR now includes a requirement that’s designed to ensure a correctly sized ENERGY STAR heat pump will perform efficiently in this temperature range.
In the winter months in Northland the climate can be cooler, so all of our heat pumps meet the new ENERGY STAR specification, or check the latest ENERGY STAR qualified models
Take the first step in making your home warmer, drier and healthier with a free assessment. Our experienced Home Energy Assessors can help you through the process and discuss your insulation requirements and clean heating options. As well as what government funding you are eligible for.
We cover all of Northland and Far North Regions. Call us and take advantage of our free home energy assessment.
Checklist for choosing a heat pump
As well as choosing an efficient model, here’s some other important things to think about:
- Insulate first – Make sure your ceiling and underfloor insulation is sorted first – you’ll be able to buy a smaller heat pump and your home will be cheaper to heat properly.
- Quality – Choose a quality brand from a reputable supplier that offers at least a five-year warranty on parts and labour.
- Sizing – Make sure it’s sized correctly for the room you want to heat – if it’s too small, it will have to work harder and cost you more to run.
- Climate – As the temperature drops, so does the performance of many heat pumps. If you live in a cold area, make sure the unit is sized using the manufacturer’s information on how much heat it can deliver at the average outdoor winter temperature of the area in which you live. A good quality unit, sized and installed correctly, should perform effectively down to minus 15° C. Ask your heat pump supplier if you need your heat pump to perform at these temperatures.
- Installation – Good installation is fundamental to how well a heat pump performs – make sure you choose an experienced installer.
Stay warm this winter
Don’t put you or your family through another cold winter we can advise you on your options to make your house warmer, drier and healthier, and what government funding you are eligible for. Depending on your situation you could get 33% or 60% off home insulation costs and $500 or $1,200 off clean heating heat pump options under the government’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme.
As an approved EECA insulation installer, we will install the insulation and heatpumps your home needs to meet the governments recommended standards. We source quality insulation and clean heat energy star rated heat pumps from trusted NZ suppliers. All of our heat pump installers are certified to either install Mitsubishi or Fujitsu heat pumps, so you can rest assure your heat pump will be installed correctly
Fact:
Dehumidifying
Do heat pumps dehumidify?
- Yes … in cooling mode, the cooled air can’t hold as much water so the water condenses out of the air inside the heat pump and is drained away.
- Yes … in dehumidifying (“dry”) mode, the heat pump alternates between cooling and heating modes to keep the room at an approximately constant temperature. Water is extracted during the cooling part of this cycle.
- No … in heating mode, the heat pump doesn’t remove water from the air. However, because warm air can hold more water than cool air, the “relative humidity” decreases as the heat pump raises the air temperature. So the warmer air feels drier.
Call us and take advantage of our free home energy assessment.