Your heating needs
Once you know what your requirements are you can make better choices about what types of heating you should use to get the best energy efficiency and value for money.
On this page
- What form of heating is best for me?
- How warm should my house be?
- How much heat do I need?
- Take Action
What form of heating is best for me?
Choose the right heater for the space you want to heat. And don’t forget to make sure your home is well insulated and curtains drawn at night – or the heat you are paying for will be wasted!
How warm should my house be?
A warm home is vital for comfort and health. Yet many New Zealand homes are just not warm enough and fall below the World Health Organisation’s recommended minimum indoor temperature of 16° Celsius.
For more about the problem with home heating in New Zeland homes, read the section About our homes.
It is also not recommended to have large temperature differences between rooms as this can be a health risk.
How much heat do I need?
To accurately estimate the size of heater you'll need to maintain a comfortable temperature, use the Consumer NZ calculator.
Take action
Explore your heating choices
Work your way through each of the topics in the heating section to find out more about what suits your needs:
Improve your home insulation
Good quality, well-installed insulation will make your house easier and cheaper to heat. Get practical tips in the section on Your home: Insulation.
More information
- For a comprehensive discussion on home heating go to the Smarterhomes website [Smarterhomes website.]