Heating & Insulation
Home » The Good Guide » Heating & InsulationRespiratory problems, skin rashes and even depression are clearly linked to living in damp, cold homes, and they particularly affect babies, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. From grants to the latest heating and insulation technology, this supplement will arm you with detailed product knowledge to help you make the right purchasing decisions to protect your family over the winter months
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How we heat and insulate our homes is about much more than just comfort. It is fundamental to a healthy and sustainable way of life.
Unfortunately, New Zealanders do not have the greatest record on this. The ‘get hard’ attitude can mean we tough it out, rather than sort it out. There’s even a sense that a warm home is some kind of namby-pamby European invention, ill-befitting our pioneering spirit.
The Business Council’s 2008 New Zealand Housing Survey found that 16 percent of Kiwi homes have no insulation at all. All the heat pumped into these places, then allowed to flood out again through every crack in the floorboards, represents an enormous waste of energy and resources.
On a personal level, this means we’re wasting money every time there’s a cold snap. On a global level, the less efficient our heating is, the higher the ecological impact. And waiting for climate change to keep your house warm is not cool, by any standards.
Robin Taylor, general manager of Environmental Choice New Zealand, says: “The conservation of energy is an essential component of environmental guardianship, and the way we heat and insulate our buildings is an important way we can exercise our own personal environmental choice. The materials that cover our floors, or protect and insulate our buildings, can not only save our ongoing energy costs, but they help save our planet.”
The health of your family can also rely on your heating choice. There’s not much point munching down organic muesli and getting our daily exercise if our houses are so cold and damp we get ill all the time anyway. As a guide, the World Health Organisation recommends a temperature range of 18–22°C, depending on the room’s function.
“Cold temperatures can be a trigger for asthma and research has shown that good heating is good for the health of people with asthma. It is important to use a healthy form of heat”
Some evidence that we may not be completely on top of this is that more than 600,000 New Zealanders have a respiratory illness. It is estimated that one in four Kiwi kids has asthma, and it’s the most common cause of hospital admission among New Zealand children.
Jane Patterson,executive director of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation of New Zealand, says: “Cold temperatures can be a trigger for asthma, and research has shown that good heating is good for the health of people with asthma. It is important to use a healthy form of heat.”
She warns against unflued gas heaters, as they emit nitrogen dioxide and release a lot of water vapour, which causes dampness. This is bad news for anyone, especially people already suffering some form of asthma.
Thankfully, in New Zealand there are a lot of healthy, efficient and environmentally sensible options out there, enough to suit every home and budget. There’s even government grants to help you get things sorted. Here’s a look at some healthy ways to put some warmth in your home, and keep it there.
Heating & Insulation
Insulation grants
EECA: Insulating your home has never been easier
Insulation
: Get a grant from ENERGYWISEâ„¢. Choose . Take a warm home for granted
Radiant heaters
Farho: Designed in Spain, where people know a wee bit about heat, Farho takes radiators to the next level
Gas heating
: Healthy home heating with and the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation
Heat recovery and ventilation
: Even a warm home can be damp, so efficient ventilation is crucial
Heat pumps
: Heat pumps are bringing the heat, even at ”“15°C
The Good Guides
Heating and InsulationRespiratory problems, skin rashes and even depression are clearly linked to living in damp, cold homes, and they particularly affect babies, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. From grants to the latest heating and insulation technology, this supplement will arm you with detailed product knowledge to help you make the right purchasing decisions to protect your family over the winter months
Renovation
There are many reasons to believe that renovation is the home building of the future. From walls to floors to warmth, this supplement will arm you with the product knowledge to help you renovate in a way that makes both dollars and sense
