Winter weather in New Zealand can be quite harsh. You can ensure your comfort during cold winter months by exerting every effort to make the most of your heating system. However – according to Community Energy Network’s chief executive, Jo Wills – It is proving more and more difficult to maintain sufficient and cost-effective heating for homes.
There are three factors which directly affect the quality of residential heating:
- Substandard Houses
- Moisture
- High Retail Cost of Power
These factors contribute to ‘fuel poverty’ in the country. So much so that low-income families spend over 10 percent of their household’s income on heating expenses, in their struggle to combat the cold. Homes in New Zealand are significantly damper, as well; something which migrants from the United Kingdom, for instance, have noticed. Energy costs have risen, in recent years. Yet it is vital for homeowners to maintain a healthy temperature, indoors.
Three Ways to Keep Warm and Save Money
Since central heating is quite uncommon in New Zealand homes, here are three tips you can apply to stay warm and save money.
- Solar heating, as an alternative to traditional heating, not only helps the environment but also optimizes your heating situation and lowers your energy bill. With this option, solar panels installed atop your roof collect the sun’s energy. This stored energy, in turn, provides heat in your home.
- Apply for grants and funding through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (ECCA). The government has enacted initiatives aimed at bettering the heating and insulation in homes across New Zealand. You get to save money and improve the heating in your home through efforts such as these.
- Since the average home in New Zealand is without proper insulation, heat dissipates and is lost through the home’s roof, walls, windows, and floor. You can renovate your home, part by part. Remove plaster board from a room’s interior, and tuck in the insulation. Effective insulation materials include fibreglass batting, loose cellulose and wool.
These are but three ways to get around the problem of heating your household, without spending so much on energy bills. Act on the situation, as early as the summer months, so as to ensure your health and safety when temperatures drop. You would not want to get caught without efficient heating when winter months come around.
