Who knows about heat pumps?

[slofox]

Thanks to all for the input.

The place I have just sold had no heating when I went into it. I put in a log burner plus a heat distribution system. Wonderful. But not that cheap since I had no source of "free" firewood and always had to buy from a woodlot. About $600 per year if you bought in the off season and got the summer discount. So that's $50 per month anyway over the course of the year. So I don't think the cost of running a heat pump is any worse than I have been used to.

I still have concerns over power supply - with this system, if the power goes out for any length of time, you're fooked. With the log burner, I could cook on it and stay warm. But, there aren't that many outages here anyway. Course if the earth starts jumping about as in Christchurch, things may be different. Fingers crossed.

Insulation (or lack thereof) is a problem no matter what sort of heating you use. The outside walls of the place I am looking at are clad with split-stone, which is good, but I doubt there is in-wall insulation, it being built circa 1970. Dunno about the ceiling. It's one of these "flat" roof jobs (faux Spanish I suppose - ugliest fuckin' building I have ever seen actually) so there is no real ceiling space. No doubt there's a gap but I dunno how deep or what, if anything, is in there. Probably nothing but air. That is a bridge I will have to cross if I get as far as actually buying the place.

If I can knock the vendor's price back enough, i could free up enough cash to fix quite a few things. Have to wait and see.

[firefighter]

How much insulation in that house? how much attention paid to draught stopping?

The only draughts of concern would be leading into the bedrooms so not an issue. It's hard to explain but if you saw the house you'd know what i mean. Insulation was fine, I had personally replaced a lot of it.

was it double glazed?

This was in N.Z.......!!! No such thing here!

There was'nt mush heat loss, it was a good heater and air conditioner, but it was just really expensive to run. It's not like we had to leave it on often.

[Gone Burger]

I have a Daikin in my house - the unit is about 5 years old now, as is the house. Personally, next time I will be going for a different brand. It it rather noisy, even on the hush setting. And living in the Akatarawas can be a very cold region mid-winter. During these times the heat pump became almost redundant as the outside unit would freeze over (yes, it is covered), and the inside unit would pump of luke warm air, even when set to 30 degrees at full force. House has full insualtion and double glazing too. This unit has also proven to be a bit pricey to run, compared to what I have been hearing about other brands.

GREAT to have a heat pump (have just moved into a rental and have been freezing my ass off without it) but from my experience, do shop around. If I buy another house I will be installing one right away.

[SMOKEU]

A log burner would be a good idea if you have access to free firewood.

[Str8 Jacket]

A log burner would be a good idea if you have access to free firewood.

The house next door is made of wood....

[nosebleed]

A log burner would be a good idea if you have access to free firewood.

Air conditioning and heated floors are great if you get free electricity.
Whats your point?

Slofox, PM Choppa

[Scuba_Steve]

Air conditioning and heated floors are great if you get free electricity.
Whats your point?

Slofox, PM Choppa

free electricity is just an extension cord away...

[steve_t]

Slightly off topic but has anyone had any experience with that faux double glazing that looks like covering your windows in duraseal? Wondering how effective it is

[Edbear]

Thanks to all for the input.

The place I have just sold had no heating when I went into it. I put in a log burner plus a heat distribution system. Wonderful. But not that cheap since I had no source of "free" firewood and always had to buy from a woodlot. About $600 per year if you bought in the off season and got the summer discount. So that's $50 per month anyway over the course of the year. So I don't think the cost of running a heat pump is any worse than I have been used to.

I still have concerns over power supply - with this system, if the power goes out for any length of time, you're fooked. With the log burner, I could cook on it and stay warm. But, there aren't that many outages here anyway. Course if the earth starts jumping about as in Christchurch, things may be different. Fingers crossed.

Insulation (or lack thereof) is a problem no matter what sort of heating you use. The outside walls of the place I am looking at are clad with split-stone, which is good, but I doubt there is in-wall insulation, it being built circa 1970. Dunno about the ceiling. It's one of these "flat" roof jobs (faux Spanish I suppose - ugliest fuckin' building I have ever seen actually) so there is no real ceiling space. No doubt there's a gap but I dunno how deep or what, if anything, is in there. Probably nothing but air. That is a bridge I will have to cross if I get as far as actually buying the place.

If I can knock the vendor's price back enough, i could free up enough cash to fix quite a few things. Have to wait and see.

I think the Gubbmint has a scheme to insulate houses built before 2000? Ask about it as I think a guy I know up Whangarei got his house insulated for free.

[SMOKEU]

Air conditioning and heated floors are great if you get free electricity.
Whats your point?

Slofox, PM Choppa

There are many free places to get free firewood legally. All you need is a chainsaw and a trailer.

[Morcs]

Heatpumps are almost pointless if your house isnt properly insulated or ventilated - and theyll cost you a lot to run because of that.

3 things are required for a healthy dry home: Ventilation, insulation, and heating.

For some reason Kiwis do them in the opposite order, costing them more money as sometimes you only need to go as far as step 1 or 2.

Having worked in the industry on a few sides i know the ins and outs.

To break down the theory a bit:

Ventilation - to dry out your home. Kiwi homes are CRAP, and hold a lot of moisture, A ventilation system such as a HRV or DVS will dry out the home over time and keep it dry - a dryer home is a warmer home, and easier to heat.

Insulation - pretty straight forward. If your home is dry, insulation will keep in any warmth. If your home has no ventilation, itll just keep the moisture in.

Heating - pretty self explanatory - if your home is dry and insulated then youll actually get the benefits here (if your home is still cold enough) and it will be A LOT cheaper to run when combined with the above.

Im not a fan of heat pumps. people have the common misconception that they will dry out a house via heating it - but no what they actually do is just push the moisture to the other end of the house - youll notice parts of your house are nice dry and warm, but the likelehood is, somewhere at the other end of the house will seem cold and damp.

[pete376403]

I used this http://www.aircondition.co.nz/pump_calculator.htm to calculate sizing and bought a Panasonic 3.5Kw (its only heating one room) $1698 from Hardly Normal not including installation.
Have put the insulation in when regibbing, and replaced the draughty old windows (but not double glazed)
Can't comment on it's performance as not delivered till next Friday.

[Matt]

We got Daikins installed a couple of years ago and they're awesome - so much cheaper than our old gas fire/oil heaters. We got 4 indoor units (1 in each bedroom) that run off one outdoor unit, and then another one in the lounge/kitchen runs off a second unit.

Best money we've ever spent on the house

Oh and we got that Magicseal (secondary double glazing) done on the main bedroom windows but it's a bit crap really, we need to save up and get it done properly!

Matt

[steve_t]

Oh and we got that Magicseal (secondary double glazing) done on the main bedroom windows but it's a bit crap really, we need to save up and get it done properly!

Matt

That's what I've seen on TV - Magicseal. Crap eh? Good to know

[Smifffy]

I have flued gas central heating, and in a central plateau winter I can dial up the thermostat and sit around in my undies.

Which is really handy cos I pay out the arse for it at the end of the month.