The low-down on heat pumps
Heat pumps are now commonplace in New Zealand homes. People are happy with their purchase, but BRANZ research shows they aren’t being operated to perform as well as they might
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Heat pumps are now commonplace in New Zealand homes. People are happy with their purchase, but BRANZ research shows they aren’t being operated to perform as well as they might
Is it more effective to do as the Europeans do and run heat pumps constantly through winter or to manually turn them on and off as most do here? BRANZ has been investigating.
If a home has a high level of moisture, the first thing you should do is to put on the dehumidifier and dry it out, right? Maybe not.
New research shows that modern houses are warmer year-round, meaning they can actually be too hot in summer.
Heat pump efficiency depends on many factors, from climate to operating characteristics, so it’s worth doing your homework before you buy.
BRANZ recently initiated a year-long trial in three schools of a simple space heating system that makes use of otherwise wasted heat.
A recent BRANZ project on energy-efficient ventilation looked at the performance of a heat recovery ventilation system installed in a test house.
Health problems for tenants in old Wanaka houses led to a successful retrofitting experiment. This basic research shows that improvements can be expected for a relatively small cost.
It is one thing to say that health improvements follow once a house is made warmer and drier, but much harder to prove this conclusively and scientifically. Two major research projects set out to do just that and have shown the benefits of well-insulated, warm houses.
Two comparative BRANZ studies into household energy use show that heat pumps make homes warmer, but whether they are cheaper to heat than before the pump was installed may depend on location.