Ms Mosty-Toasty

... and goodbye to the ugly gas heaters

The new heating system has been installed for a few days now and it's just wonderful.

The whole house heats up within ten minutes of the system being switched on. Lovely!

Very impressed with Climate Control, they popped round yesterday to double check the installation and make sure that we were happy and answer any questions. Now that's good customer service!


The next tasks...

• The old, ugly gas heaters have been removed and Mr Kiwi is fixing up where they were, which means adding skirting board, door frame, plasterboard, painting, etc. It's not particularly straightforward as there are so many different designs of skirting board and door frame throughout the house: matching them up will be a mission.


• I'm trying to track down more attractive floor registers.
  

• Insulation: there's some insulation in the ceiling already, but it could do with a top-up. And putting insulation underneath the floor boards will prevent a lot of drafts and heat loss too.

The heat is on!

Heating system installation - the verdict

Just 10 minutes after it was switched on, the house was noticeably warmer and your author is now deliciously warm and toasty. What bliss!

... And that's with the thermostat set on 22 degrees C and the fan on "low". The outdoor unit is quieter than expected, and I can't hear the vents... I suspect they may make a small amount of sound, but it's not audible over the sound of the rain outside.

The time spent researching the right system seems like time very well spent: ending up with exactly what you wanted is a very good feeling!

The installation isn't quite complete: there are a few things that need to be finished off tomorrow, and I'm very surprised at how much work the guys from Climate Control got done in just one day.

Climate Control come very highly recommended. Nice work guys! They left the house in a reasonably tidy condition too.

We will do a few extras for those finishing touches so it's all perfect:

• I'd like to replace the seven plastic air ducts (also known as floor registers) with more stylish metal ones which would look more stylish and in-keeping with our villa. No NZ suppliers have been found online so far, though there are some in Australia, so I'm hoping to find a supplier who have the right size (350 x 150mm) and is willing to ship them to New Zealand.

• Mr Kiwi is keen to anodise the metal air return grilles, of which there are three (450 x 350mm). We'll wait to see what colour floor registers we end up with before we send these to be anodised.
  

The ducting underneath the house takes up quite a lot of space, just as well that there was room for this without it getting in the way. The ducting used is insulated, which will help prevent heat loss from the ducts. It measures approx. 200mm in diameter.

The photo to the right is of the "indoor" unit, which is under the floor of the house. I'll photograph the outdoor unit once it stops raining!

Warming up

Heating system installation

Today is a long-awaited day: heating is being installed in my chilly villa. Hurrah!

Lots of research has gone into choosing the right system, and for anyone contemplating heating their home I'd strongly recommend that you join the Consumer Society to access their online reports on different heating systems. It could save you from making a very costly mistake.

A number of friends have had HRV or DVS systems put in: these raise the temperature by about two degrees, but their primary purpose is to remove the moisture. Humidity is a real problem in the damp Auckland climate, and it's not unusual for clothes, bags and even shoes to turn mouldy. My friends are really pleased with the system, but personally I wanted something with greater heating ability... hey, I'm from Europe, where we heat our houses, and I've found it quite miserable living in a cold house. It's quite common in winter to step outside and for it to be warmer outside than inside!

Our choice was a ducted heat pump system: this is where a heat pump is hidden out of sight and the heat delivered through air ducts in the rooms. In total there are seven such air ducts throughout the house (with two in the larger rooms) and also three air return grilles, as the air circulates. So as well as heating the house, it'll also get rid of the moisture. And dust too, apparently.

Why did we choose a ducted heat pump system?

• Our villa has very high ceilings, and has heat rises, so it made sense for the hot air to enter through the floor, rather than at a higher level.
• The ducted system is visually less intrusive: we didn't want ugly units on our walls.
• Less of a sensation of "being blown at".
• Ability to heat the entire house rather than just a room or two.
• Heat pumps are very cost-efficient to run compared to other heating systems.

What's important is that you end up with the system that's right for you and right for your home.

Choosing a supplier

In total four suppliers came to quote, and the quality of their knowledge and experience varied greatly. I'd strongly recommend that you get a number of people in to quote and you'll soon spot who knows their stuff and who's bluffing. Heat pumps are still relatively new in New Zealand, but really growing in popularity, so there are plenty of companies out there installing them to cash in but without the experience or knowledge. So it's quite likely that they'll recommend an installation that suits them, rather than you.

In the end we chose Climate Control, who've been in the industry for a long time and really knew their stuff. They supply Daikin heat pumps, who are the industry leaders. Plus the sales consultant from Climate Control was the only one who didn't patronise me with "ohhhh, a ducted system is soooo expensive..."!

Project cost: $$$$$$

The installers are here right now, I'll keep you updated with how it all goes...