This home in Huka Heights Drive is heated by ducted warm air from a heat pump. Pictured, Sharon, Dennis, and Natasha Proffitt. Photo / Rachel Canning
How many ways are there to heat a home is like asking, how long is a piece of string?
The Taupō & Tūrangi Weekender talked to three householders in Taupō town, all with a different approach to staying warm this winter.
Theresa Manunui's home on Rotokawa St is heated by a heat pump and a bar heater. Son Bryden Manunui thinks the 40-year-old home probably has insulation in the ceiling and there is no double glazing.
Bryden says his elderly mum, 81, is suffering from a little bit of dementia.
"She is very stringent about the amount of power she uses."
Theresa limits running the heat pump limited to three hours during the evening, between 4pm and 7pm, and the bar heater in the morning.
"She goes to let the cat out and leaves the back door open and then she loses the heat."
Due to her dementia Bryden says his mum will forget to dress warmly in the evening when she has changed into her pyjamas, and will often return from a trip to the bathroom without wearing her dressing gown.
Felt type carpet keeps the house warm and there are thermal curtains, although they are very old.
"I'm scared to wash them in case they fall to bits in the washing machine."
Bryden says the house is more or less in original condition, with no improvements carried out since it was built in about the 1980s.
The Rasdall family, Ben, Rachel and baby Zoe live in a 1960s wooden cottage that was extensively renovated seven years ago. The Ngamotu Rd home has thermostat-controlled gas central heating and there are radiators throughout the house. Ben says the home is also well-insulated. Coming from the United Kingdom, Ben said the gas central heating suits them really well.
"It's great, because all our homes [we lived in] the UK were heated with gas."
"Having a warm home is also good for our young child."
Talking with friends who have a heat pump, he says the cost of reticulated gas in the street is much different to paying for electricity to heat his home.
"The gas bill also peaks during the winter."
Ben says what they love about the thermostat is that it kicks in when they need it, so the house is always warm when they are home.
"Moving from an uninsulated old bach in Wharewaka, to a warm house with double glazing, we love it."
The Proffitt family know all about cold Taupō houses, having lived in houses heated by a variety of methods including: an open fire, bar heaters, night storage heaters, and wall-mounted heat pumps. Creating warmth was top of their list when it came to building a brand new home in Huka Heights Drive.
Sharon and Dennis Proffitt's home that is three-and-a-half years old is heated by a ducted heat pump, a single heat pump installed in the ceiling cavity with ceiling vents delivering warm or cool air to each room.
"We even have a vent in our walk-in wardrobe, so our clothes are always warm," said Sharon.
The home is double glazed and has underfloor heating in the bathroom. Sharon says if it's cold, they only need to put the heat pump on for 10 minutes at 20C, then turn it down to their preferred temperature of 18C.
"We never use the underfloor heating, the bathrooms are warm enough."
Sharon says they wouldn't go back to wall mounted heat pumps, because you can wind up having a heat pump in each room and multiple units on the outside of the house.
"In the end we had five heat pumps in our last house."
Dennis and Sharon say the only challenge with their new home is anticipating the outdoor temperature in winter.
"The garage is also insulated. We get into our car and drive into town and are walking around thinking we should have worn a jacket."
The couple are so impressed with their ducted heat pump they have recommended it to other family members, including their daughter who lives in Tokoroa, and Sharon's sister Carol, who also lives in Huka Heights.
The Rotorua law student who authored it says the support was 'overwhelming but inspiring'.