Special Publications: June 30, 2022

home & leisure | ?? home & leisure | 77
Christchurch City Council’s Eco Design Advisor Julie
Villard notes that whatever heating system you use to
keep your home cosy, insulation is the fundamental
requirement, and it will also make your heating system
more cost-effective.
Insulation materials on the market include natural
products such as glass and wool and manufactured
products such as polyester and foil.
For those designing and building a new home,
decisions on insulation will be made at this point.
Insulation is most commonly placed in the ceiling and
under the floor; however, as Julie also notes, insulating
the walls as well will provide maximum benefit.
Of course, for existing homes insulation can be
retrofitted to noticeably improve heat retention.
Next, choosing a heating system
Firstly, this will depend on what type of heat you prefer
– convection or radiation. Convection heating, which
heats the air, is provided with a heat pump, convector,
fan heater, pellet fire (fan) or convector-radiator.
Radiation heating, which heats surfaces, is provided
by the sun, a wood burner, radiator, panel heater or
underfloor heating.
The second factor in choosing the best heating system
for your home is how your house retains heat. What is
its thermal mass and is it airtight? Keep in mind new,
permanent material homes function differently from
older, weatherboard structures.
Thirdly, do you want the heating system to operate
with minimal input, or do you prefer to control it?
A dry home stays warmer
“To heat your home easily and keep it
warm and cosy you need to make sure
it’s dry,” Julie advises.
“Dry air is easier to heat, damp air is
hard to heat, because you have to heat
the air, plus the water in the air.”
Dry: relative humidity between 40 per
cent and 60 per cent – not more, not
less. (Measure with an indoor weatherstation
or hygrometer.)
Warm: temperature above 14 degrees
minimum at any time (if your house
is reasonably insulated) – ideally 16
degrees in the bedroom, 20 degrees in
the living spaces.
Good habits to keep your house dry:
• Use the range hood every day, for five minutes, even if you are not
cooking (to create a draft) or leave it on for an extra five minutes on low
after cooking. (Cooking pasta releases five litres of moisture in the air, so
make sure this is removed.)
• Open your bedroom windows for five minutes in the morning, to allow
the moisture you expired during the night to get out, also the CO2, and
let dry, fresh air come in. Five minutes is enough – if a window is open
for longer than that, you will not be ventilating anymore, just losing heat.
• Heat the bathroom with a fan heater before taking a shower. Warm air
will hold more moisture, and then it will be taken out by the
extractor fan.
• Keep the bathroom door closed after your shower to allow the extractor
fan to do its job. Otherwise, the moisture will go into your house, and
condensate on your window the next morning.
• Or install a ventilation system that does all of the above for you.
WALL
INSULATION
WITHOUT
RENOVATION
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1
Based on a scientific study of 15 New Zealand homes conducted by Unitec
Institute of Technology (Auckland) on behalf of HRV during winter and spring 2021.
Results may vary depending on design and geographic location of a home.
VENTILATION REINVENTED