[Iris]

Hello folks.

I have been hanging around for a bit, catching up on all the reading and have a question. Now please bear with naive little me as I live in Canada's Yukon Territory - right next door to Alaska...

Do the majority of houses in NZ have not have central heating - or ducting??? Several postings mention "the cold" and I guess it is all relative. How the heck are homes heated in NZ??

Ok - feel free to laugh now....before you post!

[Moorf]

Hi Iris - good point - the majority of houses here in Chch have woodburners or open fires. Some have gas fires too but there is no gasline here in the South Island so they are run from gas bottles. Radiators/central heating systems are not standard and I've yet to see a radiator here. Heat pumps are becoming popular (and can be used as air-con in summer).

On the whole NZ houses aren't centrally heated - thermals and extra jumpers are what many kiwi's fall back on.

I'll admit to being one of those who, before actually getting here, thought that others were just whinging and "it couldn't be THAT bad", but no :no , it can really get you down and now we are wiser we put the heating issue as a high priority when looking for a house to buy or rent. In fact, we totally underestimated just how cold it can get here (can't comment on North Island night time temps).

Moorf

[veronica]

will second all that helen has said there. The winters aren't as cold as the UK but the houses aren't as warm. High priority with any house you buy is insulate and sort heating

[Beach Kiwi]

North Island temperatures are milder than South, with lows of about -3 being about as cold as it gets in most parts. Usually the night time temps get to about 0 - 7, and days from about 9 - 13. Most newer houses, those built in the last 10 - 12 years, are fully insulated now, so central heating isn't really needed in the North, just a few good heaters. :cool

[cloudboy99]

Makes you almost long for those phone calls during supper trying to sell you double glazing, eh?

[veronica]

NO NO don't even go there. they are driving me round the bend here. going back to NZ tomoro yipee. (but find it hard to leave youngest daughter)

[sarahw]

Ha! Cloudboy :laugh That really made me laugh!

No double glazing (well I haven't seen any building with it in the last 2 months!) UPVC double glazing - oh how I dream of having UPVC double glazing!!! Actually there's a thought - I could become a double glazing saleswoman! :laugh I'd probably clean up!!!

And what windows you have got aren't exactly wind-proof or burglar proof! In Welly you really need tight shutting windows if you don't want to be awake with the wind whistling through ill-fitting frames! Very little insulation on buildings - poor Ian I can see him smarting at the thought of the house building here!! To top that there is little central heating. We're lucky?! :? We've got gas-fired warm air heating. However, I've heard its expensive to run - a Kiwi told us that, but, expensive as opposed to what? Wood for a woodburner? Guess we'll find out when winter hits.

My advice - buy some good woollen sweaters before you leave home - probably will need them! And a nice thick duvet! I'm sure in a couple of years we'll be hardy as anything and not even notice the cold. :nice1

[Carol]

We spent 6 long years in a house with no heating -

We tried everything from LPG heaters to fan heaters to oil filled radiaters on timers and were never warm.
Bought a house almost 3 years ago which has ducted air heating.
I dont care HOW much it costs - I would never ever go back to no heating.
This is not our "dream home" but it will do for a while purely because of the heating.

[Diny]

I don't think I've ever been so cold as when I stayed with my inlaws at the beginning of last winter.

It's true that NZ doesn't get as cold as the UK, but when you take into account the way the houses are built and the materials used, winter temps can feel much lower than at home.

As I type this I'm looking out of the office window (at home), there's about an inch covering of snow, they sky is very grey so it looks like there's plenty more to come, it's fairly windy too. I'm here in my nightie only (not a nice thought) and I'm as warm as toast. A big thankyou to UPVc double glazing and gas fired central heating which 'clicked itself on' at 5.30 this morning, and a brick built house with cavity wall and loft insulation.

I agree with Moorf in as much as I never expected the houses to be so cold during winter. Oh yeah - they all have wood burners (well - alot do) - but one wood burner to heat the entire house is abit of a joke, especially if the house is open plan with high ceilings.

What made it worse for me was the fact that my father in law refused to light the fire because the calendar didn't say it was time to do so. :eek

I'm aware that the Kiwis have abit of a 'put up and shut up' attitude towards cold houses, and you will always be told to simply put on another layer of clothing. I find this totally ineffective because the actual air inside is often so damp, no matter how many layers you put on the cold still seems to get to your bones. I wonder how many Kiwis would go back to having a cold house if they experienced central heating and double glazing :?

Diny

[Dave & Sandra]

IMHO - most of the Kiwis would love to have heating, double glazing etc. but they are not items that are affordable on NZ wages, so they just tell us we're soft and we should toughen up. :roll:

[Diny]

Yeah Sandra - I have to agree with you on that one.

Diny

[tigerlily]

When I visited NZ several years ago now, a very nice Kiwi explained the central heating thing this way:

"We heat rooms, not houses."

I said, "How do you keep warm?"

"Put on a sweater, mate."

[sarahw]

Well guys I went into The Warehouse today (shop that sells nearly everything very cheaply - bit like Walmart in the US) and guess what they had a huge display of in the middle of the store???

I actually burst out laughing :laugh Heaters and oil filled radiators!!!! They're obviously getting geared up early for winter!!!

[Moorf]

:eek Damn was hoping to pick up some bargains in the Summer Sales !!

[Gran]

How strange, when I left England we only heated the room we lived in as did everyone. The neighbours thought I was nuts because I insisted on an oil filled radiator in the babies bedroom, no-one had heard of insulation or double glazing, there were no damp courses in the brick or stone walls so that the walls dripped water in the winter, I have a photo with a huge half circle of damp in the background, what has changed everything all of a sudden? those walls must have dried out with all that central heating, but the problem is still there and should the gas dry up or rise in price the problem will be back with a vengance.

[Diny]

I know what you're saying Gran.

I grew up in a big old farm house which hadn't got one window that actually closed properly. The wind would howl through the gaps scaring the living hell out of us kids. In the winter there would be ice on the inside of the glass, if it snowed there would be a small 'drift' on the window cill.

The walls had running water - damp was a constant problem. There was an open fire in the sitting room - but that was it. No fitted carpets (but the bare oak floorboards were wonderful - still are in fact). When we got into bed at night the sheets were so cold they almost felt wet. The hotwater bottle made very little difference.

In 1977 mum & dad had central heating installed, new windows and damp course (sp) round the whole house. For the first time in my life I knew what it was like to actually reside in a warm house.

what has changed everything all of a sudden?

I think it's call progress :laugh

I know what it's like to live in a freezing cold house, I've been there. I don't think it makes me a tougher person. I don't feel particularly proud that I did it the hard way, I don't think people who complain about cold houses are abit 'nesh' (I'm not suggesting anybody does think this way). I just know that I'd choose a warm house over a cold house any day.

Diny

[acisman]

Having suffered cold NZ houses in November we decided that central heating and double glazing is a must for us. We have therefore done a fair bit of research and it is possible to have central heating, supplied via hot water radiators. The only issue is the fuel source for running the boiler.

This of course will depend on the type of fuel available. On some parts of North Island natural gas is available. On South Island coal is a cheap option. Here you have a self feed hopper on the outside of the house, so all you have to do is every 2 or 3 days remove the ash.

Both Islands offer LPG, although I have yet to discover whether the gas in supplied in large refillable containers ( a bit like oil fired systemed in the UK).

On the issue of double glazing, there are a number of firms who supply secondary double glazing, although they talk about acrylic, rather than glass. Yet to find a firm that does sealed units.

To date all my research has been done on the net, but I will leave no stone unturned when we get to NZ is a few weeks time and I will keep you posted.

NZ houses can be really cold, so no matter how much it costs central heating and d/glazing we will have.

Last day at work today, yes I retire at 4.00pm this afternoon. Packers coming Monday and container arrives Tuesday so it is getting very close now.

On the issue of shipping, we have just been informed by PSS or shippers that as from 1st March shipping firms have increased there rates. Our bill for £3207 has now increased by £360, although we were informed that it could go up. Still seems quite a large increase on the shipping aspect of the bill.

Dave

[veronica]

You can get sealed units around Chch.

[Gran]

Looks like this is the company who do sealed replacement units around CH CH.
http://www.glasstech.co.nz/doubglazp5.html

Gran

[StevieD]

Diny in a nightie! PB must be champing at the bit. Yes Diny, I can just see the PB household and the "time for heating calendar" :)

Pommy pooftas and their central heating! I well remember my last house, a near 100 year old terraced house. Basic central heating that did nothing to stop the draughts blowing through the sash windows. Toffee glass in the frames too - very thin. Tried hardest to insulate and draught proof windows but a waste of time. But we managed.

Steve - still struggling with whiplash and chest injury from crash.

[RoadRunner]

We just went through several open homes for new or nearly new homes in the Wellington region. They all have central heating. Several specifically touted double-glazed windows. Even a 10-year old house we went into had central heating.

One interesting note: A builder told us that the price of gas was going to increase significantly in the next few years so most builders were putting in heat pumps v. gas heating. Anyone know if this is true (or at least the latest rumour)?

[DrPhred]

You where busy. Thanks for posting your findings.
What was your impression of the houses you saw? What was the price ranges?
Inquiring minds want to know!


It's nice to read these impressions from a US point of view.