North Canterbury News: April 08, 2022

WINTER HEATING
12 North Canterbury News, April 7, 2022
Check those smoke alarms
Did you check you smoke alarms last
weekend?
Fire and Emergency New Zealand
(FENZ) community readiness and
recovery national manager Steve Turek
says daylight savings is agood time to
remind people to check their smoke
alarms are working.
‘‘When you look after your smoke
alarms, they look after you. Checking is
easy and should actually be done once a
month,’’ he says.
‘‘Just push the button on each of your
smoke alarms. If you hear the beep, you
know they are ready to protect you and
your household.’’
Smoke alarms can’t detect smoke
through closed doors, so it’s important
there are enough smoke alarms installed
to cover the whole house.
‘‘We recommend you have an alarm in
every bedroom, living area and hallway,’’
Mr Turek says.
In ahouse fire, you have less than three
minutes to get out alive so the early
warning from your smoke alarm is vital.
The thick black smoke which makes it
hard to see, hear and think clearly, will
also kill you.
‘‘That’s why it’s also important to have
an escape plan so you can get to safety
quickly,’’ Mr Turek says.
‘‘Making an escape plan takes just
Smoke detector ... Smoke alarms save
lives.
PHOTO: FILE
❛We recommendyou have an
alarm in every bedroom, living
areaand hallway❜
—Steve Turek, FENZ
three steps. 1­plan your main escape
route. 2­plan asecond escape route in
case your normal exit is blocked. 3­agree
on asafe meeting place for you and your
household which is safely away from the
house.’’
Smokey the smoke alarm is here to
help you.
See Smokey’s tips for how to look after
your smoke alarms at escapemyhouse.co.
nz/sorted. To make your 3­step escape
plan, go to escapemyhouse.co.nz.
Hitting the heat sweet spot
The days are getting darker, colder and
the temptation to run the heat pump at
full blast might be growing. After all,
they’re alow cost and efficient way to
heat your home.
Tempting though it might be, blasting
your heat pump will add to the numbers
on your electricity bill, and it also adds to
your carbon footprint, according to
Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Authority.
Housing expert Gareth Gretton says it’s
easy to run your heat pump the smart
way.
Just like cleaning the filter in your
dishwasher or washing machine can help
it run more efficiently, cleaning the filter
inside your heat pump can make areal
difference to how well it works.
You should give your filter agood
clean heading into the cold season, and
ideally clean your heat pump filters once
amonth during winter.
You can always clean them more
frequently if they’re particularly dirty.
How do you get awarm, dry home
without churning through power?
There is amiddle point that’ll help you
with both. Set your heat pump to 18
degrees celsius or above to help fight
damp and mould, but below 21 degrees to
save on power.
It might sound obvious, but heat pumps
use the most energy when they’re getting
aroom up to aset temperature.
Spending more time in the space your
heat pump is in will help you make the
most of the energy you’re using.
Often, that’s in the living room, which
is also conveniently where couches, TVs,
and magazines live.
You can close the doors to any rooms
Energy efficiency ... Get the best out of
your heat pump and keep your feline friends
snug and warm.
PHOTO: FILE
you don’t use, to make sure they’re not
stealing some of the warmth.
Alot of people believe that keeping a
heat pump running 24/7 is an efficient,
cost effective way to heat their homes.
But in fact, that idea is actually amyth.
When you do that, you’re actually using
more energy and losing more energy
overall, so it’s much better to just run
your heat pump when you’re at home.
Doing that will also save you money on
your electricity bill.
If your heat pump has atimer, you can
set it to turn on just before you get home
or before you wake up in the morning.
Doing that also means you’ll be less
tempted to crank the heat pump at ahigh
temperature when you get home to acold
house, or wake up in one.
HEAT PUMP
CLEANING
local
reliable
recommended
CONTACT JOHN FOR AFREE QUOTE
0274 968 192
johnawright@xtra.co.nz
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