Sustainable Ways to Warm Your Home During Winters Without Breaking The Bank

Winter in New Zealand can be extremely cold! Average temperatures range from 7-12°C; and in South Island, temperatures can get as low as -10°C. This is why keeping the home heated throughout the day and night is essential for New Zealanders.

While Kiwis are given plenty of options for heating their home, not all of them are sustainable for the environment. Worse, some of these heating options consume astronomical percentages of your budget for utilities.

Being pioneers when it comes to sustainability, New Zealanders are presented with plenty of cheap yet clean ways to keep the home nice and warm through the winter. These are mostly from renewable energy sources, which leaves less carbon footprints on the environment. 

Let’s take a look at some of them...

Home Insulation 

One of the most efficient ways to warm your home is to not let any heat escape. A well-insulated home can do wonders, as you don’t need to consume any power to heat your home  - meaning less costs for you!

The best ways to trap the heat inside is picking the right materials for your home. Aside from the underfloor and ceiling insulation, double glazed windows are a nice addition as they are sealed tight when closed shut, meaning no heat escapes.

Pellet Burners

If you’re ready for the colder weather, but want a clean alternative to wood burners, pellet burners might just be for you. It’s a simple solution – like going back to basics – but with more care for the environment.

This is perfect in rural areas as they are known to be carbon neutral. This means that they release just enough smoke not to harm the environment. However, it’s not ideal to use these in urban areas, as there are other pollutants which can contribute to greater carbon emissions.

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps are an ideal option to help save you on power costs! Even if you run one for only a short period, the heat stays at home for a long time. With the right source of power, it can also be a sustainable option to heat your home.

Since you only need to use it for a short time, you can use your on-grid electricity to power it up. You won’t have to worry about the costs of your electricity, but only if you use it wisely, so it won’t cause strain on your electricity bill.

Humidifier

If warm air can’t enter your home easily, why not dry the air inside your home? Humidifiers enable you to remove the moisture from the air. Using this even for a short time can heat your home quite a lot –  this is why it’s so sustainable!

Whether you are in the urban centres or in rural areas, a humidifier is a good heating option. Since most of New Zealand’s energy is generated through renewable sources, this can only have minimal impact on the environment.

Industrial Heating

The next big thing that will heat your home is industrial heating. This is generated centrally through one hub in the area. These industrial hubs reuse energy which would otherwise go to waste– an ingenious idea to go sustainable!

Several commercial and residential districts in Sweden and Denmark already have this central heating system. In New Zealand, commercial centres in Christchurch and Central Otago recently launched this system; and other areas, including residential areas, are on the way. 

If you want to have the most affordable electricity plan for heating your household, make sure you know all of the power options available for your area. Simply enter your address when comparing here at Glimp and we’ll give you the most affordable power plans available in just a few minutes! 

Be sustainable during winter, and use our comparison tool to know your electricity savings options!