Why having a well-heated home is important

A disturbing number of homes in New Zealand have no form of heating at all and this is one of the main reasons for New Zealand’s internationally high rates of hospitalisations for respiratory disease.

Electric resistance heaters are the most common form of space heating in New Zealand, but these are expensive to run for long periods of time (particularly in the main living space). These electric heaters may be acceptable in smaller living rooms (they have to be fixed to the building to meet both HomeFit and the Healthy Homes Standards), but more energy efficient heating types are available and either heat pumps or clean-burning wood stoves or pellet burners are recommended by HomeFit.