Winter is coming....

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Silvrav

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#303739 6-Mar-2023 11:57

Nice cold snap in Christchurch and we had the fire going last night.

Works well for the living room and kitchen area, but does not help the bedrooms.

House is insulated but does not have double glazing.

Insulation works ok with outside being 6 last night and inside between 12 and 15 but the wife and kids got cold they say.

Never had success with panel heaters as the wife says they dont work as she doesnt feel the difference.

Looking into infrared panel heaters but they pricy!

Any other suggestions? This will be our first rural, christchurch winter

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#3046261 6-Mar-2023 12:02

We are in a similar situation. Had panel heaters and oil column heaters in the bedrooms last winter, as the heat from the fire didn't reach that end of the house. We are looking at getting a heat transfer kit installed, but the cost of one would pay for lots of nights with the heaters on.

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Handsomedan

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#3046262 6-Mar-2023 12:03

Good sized heatpumps.

Placed correctly and with the right amount of output for the space...can't be beaten.

Don't know how we lasted as long as we did without one.

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johno1234

2688 posts

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#3046264 6-Mar-2023 12:04

Watching the NZ Open golf on Sunday - quite a good snowfall on the ranges around QTown and the players all with layers on.

johno1234

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#3046265 6-Mar-2023 12:05

Handsomedan:

Good sized heatpumps.

Placed correctly and with the right amount of output for the space...can't be beaten.

Don't know how we lasted as long as we did without one.

Ours heats up the large combined lounge/dining/kitchen space so fast - it's amazing.

lxsw20

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#3046268 6-Mar-2023 12:09

Is the house dry, or does it feel damp? Especially the bedrooms. Consider a dehumidifier if it's damp, as it's much easier to heat dry air.

As above, best way to utilize the heat from the fireplace is a heat transfer kit.

I personally opt for a fan heater in bedrooms. I only really want it warm when I'm going to bed and when I get up in the morning. Fan heaters are a great way to heat a smaller room relatively quickly.

Panel heaters only work if left on all the time, does the bedroom really always need to be warm?

Silvrav

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#3046271 6-Mar-2023 12:11

Handsomedan:

Good sized heatpumps.

Placed correctly and with the right amount of output for the space...can't be beaten.

Don't know how we lasted as long as we did without one.

yip, but very expensive option - we are looking at a ducted heatpump for the entire house in future once the funds are looking better.

Silvrav

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#3046274 6-Mar-2023 12:14

lxsw20:

Is the house dry, or does it feel damp? Especially the bedrooms. Consider a dehumidifier if it's damp, as it's much easier to heat dry air.

As above, best way to utilize the heat from the fireplace is a heat transfer kit.

I personally opt for a fan heater in bedrooms. I only really want it warm when I'm going to bed and when I get up in the morning. Fan heaters are a great way to heat a smaller room relatively quickly.

Panel heaters only work if left on all the time, does the bedroom really always need to be warm?

No its dry luckily. Heat transfer kit does look like the right way to go for now as its relatively cheap and easy to install.

and no, doesnt need to be heated all the time - contrary to the wife's belief 🤣

scuwp

3873 posts

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#3046275 6-Mar-2023 12:15

1. Heatpumps

2. Ventilation system (e.g. Smart Vent)

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lxsw20

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#3046277 6-Mar-2023 12:16

Yeah I think in your shoes I'd go transfer kit and fan heater as backup if the fire isn't going etc. They're only $20-30.

People saying heatpumps are not getting the low cost element here....

Scott3

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#3046286 6-Mar-2023 12:44

Your options really are:

- Heat transfer kit to move fireplace heat to the bedroom area. (basically an insulated duct with an inline fan).

- Some form of resistance heating in the bedrooms

- Pony up for heat pump's

In terms of resistance heating, everything is the same efficiency. "eco" pannel heater are only "eco" because they put out barely any heat. If your power is cheap, heating that end of the house with resistance heating could be viable, but if you are on an expensive low user plan, it could be too expensive.

One setup I had which I quite liked was a cheap oil heater, with a timer / thermostat (in those days you couldn't get a combined unit so I had separate ones stacked).

Ment the thermostat was remote from the heater, and it would nicely keep my bedroom above 18c (or whatever I set it at), during the night.

Dratsab

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#3046292 6-Mar-2023 13:06

BlargHonk: We are looking at getting a heat transfer kit installed, but the cost of one would pay for lots of nights with the heaters on.

In the first year, yes. Consider it from the point-of-view of it being a multi-year investment.

davidcole

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#3046293 6-Mar-2023 13:12

Silvrav:

Nice cold snap in Christchurch and we had the fire going last night.

Works well for the living room and kitchen area, but does not help the bedrooms.

House is insulated but does not have double glazing.

Insulation works ok with outside being 6 last night and inside between 12 and 15 but the wife and kids got cold they say.

Never had success with panel heaters as the wife says they dont work as she doesnt feel the difference.

Looking into infrared panel heaters but they pricy!

Any other suggestions? This will be our first rural, christchurch winter

Radiators say hold my beer to your infrared panels are pricey comment....

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timmmay

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#3046304 6-Mar-2023 13:39

More insulation perhaps, and good curtains. We have a very old, well insulated, double glazed house. If we turn the heat pumps off at 10pm and it's 22 degrees, 6 degrees outside, it'll be about 19 degrees in the morning.

In practice we leave the ducted heat pump going to keep the bedrooms warm to about 21 degrees overnight.

Arcturi

18 posts

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#3046417 6-Mar-2023 17:34

A heat transfer kit will be useful, as long as your fire can pump out enough heat, the ducting is insulated, and you keep the fire going overnight (evidence shows that keeping the bedrooms at least 16degC is better for health - piling on the blankets is fine but breathing cold air all night is associated with lung problems and increased blood pressure, among other things). My experience with heat transfer was in a very poorly insulated house and it only made a difference if we kept the bedroom doors closed, otherwise the heat leaked out to the hall and dissipated too much, however we never had the fire running 24/7. My brother found it was great for the bedrooms at his place when he was working from home and kept the fire on all the time, but when he got a different job and just ran the fire in the evenings it wasn't cutting it, and he is now looking at getting a heat pump for the bedroom end of his house. Without double glazing your experience might be similar, and you would need to supplement with another form of heating in the mornings.

Otherwise, recommend good floor length curtains with lining - ideally 3x the width of the windows so you get lots of gathers - doesn't need to be thick lining; more gathers and more layers actually works better.

If still needing heating in bedrooms until you get the ducted heat pump system, my preferred choice is convection on a thermostat - nice and quiet, does well at heating quickly and distributing through the room. If young kids, then oil column for better safety. If you still prefer not to heat all night, then get one with a timer or plug it into a separate timer.

jonherries

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#3046420 6-Mar-2023 18:01

timmmay:
More insulation perhaps, and good curtains. We have a very old, well insulated, double glazed house. If we turn the heat pumps off at 10pm and it's 22 degrees, 6 degrees outside, it'll be about 19 degrees in the morning.

In practice we leave the ducted heat pump going to keep the bedrooms warm to about 21 degrees overnight.

Ours is very similar, best investment was - by hand on my belly - digging out under the house and putting down polythene. Went from <10cm clearance in parts to about 60-70cm. Massively reduced humidity in the house and the “old house smell” is gone.

Jon

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