Heating - Hurrah!

[IanW99]

Can I join in...

we've got it too

Ian

[Kiwi Mac]

We have heatpumps - more use in the summer.

[Kea]

Can anyone with radiators give me an idea of how much they cost to run? I know Tia probably hasn't had a bill yet...

[Sam B]

I'd like to fly a flag for a really good woodburner. Especially if you have access to wood. In this instance it is a free source of heat. We enjoy the chopping, splitting and stacking and it shoots out megaheat every night, warming a wide area. Using a heat distributor helps to watm the bedrooms (a bit). Good insulation is needed, plus a good, well-serviced burner.

I never liked central heating in the UK, it made me feel dry and made my bogeys go crispy. But Cornwall is warmer than some parts of NZ, and if I lived in Otago, I may feel differently in Winter. And you have to like hefting wood around.

[Jo Jo]

Mmmm, I love my woodburner, too. We heat our house with a mixture of the woodburner and free-standing oil-filled radiators in the bedrooms. (Which, coincidentally, is exactly the same system as my dad uses to heat his house in Norway where the temperature is way below freezing for several months in the winter). In winter I have the heater in our bedroom timed to come on an hour or so before we get up, and once the woodburner is lit it warms the whole house. I also use an electric blanket on particularly cold nights - bliss.

[Kiwi Mac]

I'd like to fly a flag for a really good woodburner. Especially if you have access to wood. In this instance it is a free source of heat. We enjoy the chopping, splitting and stacking and it shoots out megaheat every night, warming a wide area. Using a heat distributor helps to watm the bedrooms (a bit). Good insulation is needed, plus a good, well-serviced burner.

I never liked central heating in the UK, it made me feel dry and made my bogeys go crispy. But Cornwall is warmer than some parts of NZ, and if I lived in Otago, I may feel differently in Winter. And you have to like hefting wood around.

Would that include flying a flag for the particulate pollution arising?

[Kiwi Mac]

Mmmm, I love my woodburner, too. We heat our house with a mixture of the woodburner and free-standing oil-filled radiators in the bedrooms. (Which, coincidentally, is exactly the same system as my dad uses to heat his house in Norway where the temperature is way below freezing for several months in the winter). In winter I have the heater in our bedroom timed to come on an hour or so before we get up, and once the woodburner is lit it warms the whole house. I also use an electric blanket on particularly cold nights - bliss.

Have you considered abandoning refrigeration and electric light in your pursuit of 19th century living?!

[Tia Maria]

I never liked central heating in the UK, it made me feel dry and made my bogeys go crispy.

Cheers

Tia

[Tia Maria]

Can anyone with radiators give me an idea of how much they cost to run? I know Tia probably hasn't had a bill yet...

Most quotes I've heard have ranged between $12K to $15K (incl GST). For vented air $7-8K.

But would be helpful to hear what others paid with a description of size of house....

Cheers

Tia

[newarrival]

You must have the only house in NZ with central heating!!

Don't think so..., we have friends here who live in an old !!!!! villa with central heating- they have radiators in each room which are heated by hot water- which gets heated through a huge Rayburn (sp?) in the kitchen! They just installed a heatpump which now heats the water up to a certain degree so they won't use that much heat/ wood any more to get it hot.