How to Keep Your Home Warm in Winter
During Winter we all start to feel the effects of the cold, the first steps to creating a warm home environment starts with keeping the warm air in and the cold air out. There is no point in spending money on a heat pump installation to produce heat in your home if it is all escaping out the ceiling or floor. Don’t despair with these handy hints, your home will be warm and toasty in no time.
Home Insulation
Installing insulation into your roof and in the underfloor is the first step to creating a warm home and can reduce heat loss in your home by up to 55 percent. Because New Zealand has a diverse climate depending on where you live, home insulation is given an “R” rating. This rating determines the various grades of insulation available for use. The following table is the “R” values recommended for your home by EECA depending on your location throughout New Zealand.
| Minimum recommended R-Values for existing homes | North Island (excluding Central Plateau) | South Island and Central Plateau |
| Ceilings with no insulation, or up to 75mm of existing insulation | R2.9 blanket or R3.4 segment insulation | R3.3 blanket or R4.0 segment insulation |
| Ceilings with 75-120mm of existing insulation | R1.8 blanket insulation | R2.4 blanket insulation |
You may note it only refers to the ceiling and underfloor insulation and doesn’t refer to insulation in the walls. This is due to the cost of removing and replacing the cladding or gib to replace insulation in the walls. Although heat can be lost through the walls of your home, the cost to replace wall insulation will generally outweigh the benefits. In New Zealand, all new home builds must have insulation in the roof, as well as the underfloor if it’s not built on a concrete base. New houses also require some form of insulation in the walls.
Learn more about home insulation
Closing Your Curtains
Another effective idea for keeping your home warm in winter is shutting your curtains. Windows can be a big source of heat loss in a home especially as most homes older than 10 years have single glazed windows as opposed to modern double glazed windows. The best time to shut your curtains is just before the sun goes down, this will help keep any natural heat created during the day from escaping out the windows.
Seal Doors and Windows
To eliminate draughts make sure your windows and doors are sealed. Use draught excluders and door snakes if needed and close off any rooms you are not using and don’t need to heat.
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