Home heating an increasing worry

As winter approaches and the cost of living increases, home heating is becoming an increasing worry for many in the Western Bay.
Statistics New Zealand announced last month that inflation was running at 4.5 per cent for the year to March - the second-highest in two decades - leaving many families struggling.
Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Marjorie Iliffe said power bills were already "hideous" without adding winter heating bills.
While the elderly were more likely to shiver rather than switch on heating, younger people tended to crank it up - and pay the price later.
Most people on low incomes were renting, which took away the option of installing cheap heating, Mrs Iliffe said.
And some people were turning on appliances such as dryers and ovens just to stay warm.
"Economy doesn't actually come into it, it's convenience. They are more likely to run uneconomical things because they have very young children or a baby that needs to be kept warm.
"We quite often find that then they get astronomical power bills."
Another "lose-lose situation" was buying cheap oil heaters, which weren't economical to run, Mrs Iliffe said.
Age Concern Tauranga president Angela Scott said many elderly people tried to scrimp on home heating - particularly if they used electric heating and feared a large power bill - to save cash.
"Winter is a tough time. The older generation are very economical. They don't like waste money or spend more than they have to. It is an continual worry because if you are using electricity, you don't know how much your power bill is going to cost.
"They try to be very economical - too economical. They try and put more clothes on, or use a blanket, or go to bed earlier. We wouldn't like to think that that's necessary, as it affects their quality of life."
Mrs Scott said it was crucial that elderly people heated their homes to 19C-20C.
"If it drops lower than that, you get moisture in the house and mould, and it's not healthy breathing that in.
"Older people are more prone to pick up infections and get colds.
"If they don't heat their homes properly, it really can lead to a lot of other complications."
Mrs Scott advised the elderly to ensure they were using the most efficient method of heating for their home.
"There are businesses that will come round and check your energy efficiency.
"Often more power is being used because of an inefficient method of heating.
"Take advice on what is the best way to heat a home and take advantage of the insulation offers. If you insulate, you lose less heat. Pull your curtains early to keep the heat in."
And she urged family members to check on their elderly relatives to make sure they had enough heating and the right kind.
So what's the most cost-effective way to heat your home?
That depends, says Consumer senior technical writer Bill Whitley.
The heating devices cheapest to run are a wood-burner, followed by a heat pump.
The cost of electricity used to run a heat pump is two-and-a-half to three times less than to run a portable heater.
But the catch is that these cost-effective ways of heating also cost money to install, Mr Whitley said.
"If you own your home, it's definitely worth installing one or the other."
The cost-effectiveness of wood burners depended on the price of firewood, which could vary greatly, and the cost of running heat pumps also varied, he said.
"The heat pump cost is related to the electricity cost but also to the efficiency of the heat pump.
"A modern heat pump is going to work better than one that's five years old. Modern ones can be three times cheaper, or more than three times cheaper."
The third cheapest heating option is natural gas - but only if you already have gas connected to your home for hot water.
But for renters, there is often no option to install devices such as a heat pump or wood-burner, and portable electric heaters are the only option.
In that situation, Mr Whitley recommended using a dehumidifier, which he said operated as a "miniature heat pump".
"They do two things - they put heat into the air and they also reduce the moisture in the air, which is good from a health point of view.
"They put out more heat than they use energy. They are good to run in a bedroom where there's lots of soft furnishings."
Oil column heaters with a tilt switch were the safest electric heaters and the best option for a child's bedroom, Mr Whitley said.
"But with these heaters, a column of warm air rises up from the heater, which pools under the ceiling - they don't spread the heat around the room a lot."
Mr Whitley recommended using a desk fan to "stir the air up" and even out the heat in a room.
For older-style houses that did not have insulation or had high ceilings, radiant heaters were the most efficient - but also the most dangerous.