Well that's good. You've answered your own post. Now you just need to find the fire you want to have in there.
trade4us2,
Aug 22, 5:14am
In the winterless North, just plug a $20 heater in and turn it on. There's no point in spending hundreds or thousands of dollars to install anything else.
bit,
Aug 22, 5:33am
Winterless North! We need more than a $20 heater. That's what I've been doing. To be honest I don't use a heater much. I just endure the cold. But I'm over that but I figure to leave such a heater on all day would get expensive.
dibble35,
Aug 22, 7:18am
I got an insert fireplace put in just before winter and boy has it been lovely. Im in Whangarei so dont burn tonnes of wood like some further south would, but its been a really comfortable winter, house is nice and dry. Im really glad i did it. Last winter I had a oil heater going and it wasnt a very warm winter for me, quite chilly in fact
russ18,
Aug 22, 7:24am
A heat pump would run very well up in the winterless north. even on those bone chilling 15 degree days
paix1,
Aug 22, 7:45am
. all bases covered here lol! - woodburner AND a floor-mounted Daikin HP. Love the look of the woodburner, (& for when power goes out), but also love the convenience of the HP
lythande1,
Aug 22, 6:10pm
A fireplace. By far. Been in homes with heatpumps, electric heaters and fires. Heatpump no better than a 3 bar fan heater. (Not on 3 either). And not a lot cheaper. consumer says 58c hr for heater, 48c hr for heat pump. I'd believe that judging by the heat pump owners power bills. One who keeps it no higher than 22 and only evenings.
nonumbers,
Aug 22, 6:28pm
Free standing woodburner with enough space on top for cooking . . .
bit,
Aug 22, 8:43pm
Mine will have to be free standing. If I get one. I'm not entirely sure a heatpump is not the way to go but I note your words lythande1.
I'm gonna look at wood pellet burners. Less polluting. No wood to chop or keep dry, and no bugs crawling around.
biggles45,
Aug 22, 10:07pm
Our heatpump heats far better than a wood burner. We never use the burner on really cold days, but we are Southland. Cheaper than wood too, costs us about $30 to $40 a month to run 24/7
johotech,
Aug 22, 10:14pm
This post is misleading and should be ignored.
Consumer says this (from Sept 2014 information): Fan heater (2.4kW) and two bar heater (2.4kW) cost 58c/hr Heatpump (4.5kW) costs 30-43c/hr
So if you calculate the fan heater up to 4.5kW total, the cost would be $1.09 per hour, compared with the maximum cost of 43c/hr for the heatpump.
That works out to roughly 2.5 times higher cost to run the electric heater over the heatpump. IMO, that is a very conservative costing, as most heatpumps now are 300-400% efficient so would cost 1/3rd to 1/4 of the cost of any standard heater. This would apply more in the "winterless north", rather than the colder south, where efficiency of heatpumps would be at the lower level of their ratings.
So OP, you should do your own research rather than rely on misinformation, inaccurate anecdotes and conjecture from posters on here.
FYI: I have installed thousands of heatpumps and airconditioners since the 1980's.
shaun16,
Aug 22, 10:33pm
what about heatpumps vs woodburners (assuming you pay the going rate for wood) which is cheaper/better?
shaun16,
Aug 22, 10:33pm
we already have a woodburner so it makes economic sense to use that rather than paying to install a heatpump. although I wouldn't mind a heatpump as well
johotech,
Aug 22, 10:46pm
Heatpump is always going to be the lowest cost, unless you have a source of free firewood.
2015 costs per kW of heat: Heatpump 6-11c Natural gas 7-13c Off peak electric 9-24c Woodburner 8-28c Electric heater 16-36c Diesel 16c LPG (Flued) 19-23c LPG (Unflued) 31-41c
biggles45,
Aug 22, 11:15pm
johotech - do those costs assume a heatpump is running constantly rather than turning itself off and on? Just curious because at 11c an hour that works out to be about the same that we run 2 heat pumps for a month (one on 24/7 and one just daytime hours about 9am -9pm). And we are in Southland in a villa, roof insulation only.
ira78,
Aug 22, 11:29pm
The chart isn't for hours, it's for kilowatt hours.
johotech,
Aug 23, 1:59am
Those prices are the cost to produce 1kW of heat, for 1hr.
That is the only way to compare different energy sources, using a common cost method.
The reason heatpumps are always the cheapest, is because they produce between 2.5 times and roughly 4 times more heat, than the electricity they consume, depending on the model and the outside temperature and humidity conditions.
The way they produce more heat than the amount of power they use, is because they extract heat from the air outside (even when it is cold outside) and concentrate that heat to the indoor fan unit.
fordcrzy,
Aug 23, 6:07am
we have a 14kw ducted sytem throughout the whole house. brilliant silent heating of the whole house and our power bills are perfectly reasonable. we have it on 17-18 during the night and on cold weekdays then turn it up to 21-22 evenings perfectly comfortable to sit with trackies and a tshirt. we have thrown out the electric blankets as they arent needed anymore. why do people insist on turning thier house into the sahara desert in winter time.
budgel,
Aug 23, 7:24am
I live in Kaitaia and love my Metro woodfire. I have access to free firewood if I cut it myself and enjoy going out and getting it long before winter sets in. My Brother in Whangarei buys most of his firewood and still loves the homely feeling that a woodfire provides. The fact that there will be no bill after you are warmed is a plus. Heatpumps are efficient, but woodfires warm the soul as well as the body!
bit,
Aug 23, 8:14am
Hmm. confusinger and confusinger :/
trade4us2,
Aug 23, 9:03am
Have you got a fireplace already? Otherwise installing one could cost thousands of dollars including permits and regular cleaning. In fact installing almost anything e.g. heat pump would cost thousands.
paix1,
Aug 23, 5:06pm
. absolute NONSENSE from lythande above! Agree with what others have said above- heatpump cheapest for of heating if you use it correctly & have correct size etc. As I said above, have Woodburner as well but with the increasing cost of wood will use HP more next year, and keep small amount of wood for when I want the 'look' of the fire.
dibble35,
Aug 23, 7:10pm
I wish it was 15 degrees, coldest temps weve had for awhile, got into the negatives one morning at my place. -.5 of a degree. Lol :-) Had 3 wicked frosts in a row one week. But its been a dry winter which has been nice.
kwaka5,
Aug 23, 8:41pm
Wood burners and heat pumps each have advantages and disadvantages. The best thing you can do is weigh up the options and decide which suits you and your lifestyle better. Wood burners, do you have somewhere to store a full winters worth of dry wood, do you have access to wood to gather or are you going to have to buy it in, do you have access to flu cleaning equipment or are you happy to pay for someone to do this for you. Heat pump, can you use a vacuum to clean the filters once every month or two during winter.
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