Prepare for winter

A warm, dry home is not just more comfortable, it is also more energy efficient and much better for your health. Cold, damp and mouldy houses can lead to discomfort and more serious health problems, such as respiratory illness and cardiovascular disease. It is harder and more costly to heat damp and draughty houses.

This self-assessment toolkit will enable you to assess your home for warmth and damp, and understand how it is performing. You will find useful tips and advice to improve the comfort of your home, and the health of occupants.

You can borrow the Home Health Self-Assessment Kit for free from the five Wairarapa Libraries (Featherston, Martinborough, Greytown, Carterton and Masterton). Find out more at www.wls.org.nz

Useful information:

• Online tool to check your house’s health:
  • www.homefit.org.nz/[MB1] 
• Improve your home:
  • www.genless.govt.nz/for-everyone/at-home/
  • www.smarterhomes.org.nz/tools/
  • www.ecodesignadvisor.org.nz/[MB2] 
• Smarter with your wood burner:
  • www.warmercheaper.co.nz/[MB3] 
• Regional Public Health and healthy homes:
  • www.rph.org.nz/public-health-topics/housing-well-homes/[MB4] 

• Insulation
• Use an inexpensive kit (around $6 per standard size window) to stick insulation film to the
  frames of wooden windows. It acts like double glazing.
• Retrofit insulation in your ceilings, walls and floor.
• Upgrade your joineries to double glaze.
  
  Reduce droughts
• Check your doors and windows and fix air leaks (latches, rubber seals, etc).
• Fit draught excluders or door snakes along the bottom of your doors.
  
  Curtains
• Open your curtains during the day and close thembefore dark.
• Use thermal curtains (double-layered with a thick lining) that:
• touch the floor
• are wider than the window frame
• fit tightly against the wall and window frame
• have a pelmet above curtains to add insulation
  
  Heating systems
• Get professional advice when it comes to choosing a new heating system to:
• Choose a heater that uses renewable energies (wood, wood pellets, electricity).
• Choose an efficient model that meets your needs.
• Follow maintenance advices for your heaters.
• Burn dry wood (15-20 per cent moisture content) to increase efficiency and save money.

• Reduce excess moisture
• Don’t dry your clothes inside when possible.
• Put lids on pots and pans when cooking to stop the steamescaping.
• Use extraction fans in the kitchen and bathroom.
• Wipe condensation off your windows every day.
  
  Open your windows and doors
• Open some windows and doors, even for 10minutes in winter, to maintain a good air flow.
• Open windows after a shower and when cooking allow warm, moist air to escape outside.
• Leave a window open at night if it is safe and suitable.
  
  Reduce humidity and moisture levels
• Extract the moisture to the outside, and not into the ceiling, using extractor fans and
  rangehoods.
• Use a shower cover or curtain to retain humidity in the shower cubicle.
• Heat your house to at least 18˚C to experience fewer periods of high humidity.
• Install a groundsheet (polyethylene barrier or vapour barrier) under your house to
  effectively reduce indoor humidity. This is very cost effective and, most of the time, you can
  do it yourself.
• If your house is on piles, ensure good ventilation of the area under your floor.
  
  Burn dry wood
• Check your firewood moisture content. A wood moisture meter can help see how wet your
  wood is. Well-seasoned (dry) wood burns cleaner, and can keep us warmer, something that we
  need in a region that gets very still and frosty in winter, and where wood smoke hangs around
  and can affect our air quality.
  
• For more information on firewood visit:
  www.mstn.govt.nz/mastertons-air-quality
  www.gw.govt.nz/how-to-keep-your-wood-dry
  www.warmercheaper.co.nz/good-wood/what-is-good-wood

Use less hot water
Using less hot water reduces your energy consumption and costs you less money.

• Take a shower instead of a bath and reduce your shower time (a timer and shower flow
  restrictors can help!).
• Use cold water for your laundry, and run the dishwasher and washing machine with full
  loads
• Fix any leaks around your home.
• Set the thermostat of your hot water cylinder to 55-60°C (you may need a plumber to do
  that).
• Wrap your hot water cylinder with a cylinder wrap to reduce heat loss (lost heat = lost
  money)
  
  Appliances and lighting
• Choose energy-efficient appliances and turn themoff when not in use (not on standby).
• Do not leave devices plugged in when they are fully charged.
• Use timers and thermostat to reduce your power consumption (e.g. heaters, freezers,
  lights, etc).
• Identify the appliances that are using a lot of power and replace them, if possible, with
  more efficient models, orminimise their use.
• Switch your lightbulbs to LEDs to reduce your power bill for lighting by up to 83 per cent.
  
  Fridge/freezers
• Make sure that fridge and freezer doors are sealing properly.
• Leave 3-5cm between the back of your fridge or freezer and the wall, to enable good
  ventilation. Poor air circulation can double the electricity use of a fridge or freezer.
• Manage the temperatures of your refrigeration appliances (-18°C for your freezer and 2-4°C
  for your fridge).
  
  Electricity plan
• The website powerswitch.org.nz helps you find the best electricity and gas plan. Keeping
  track of your bills will help you understand where you can make savings.
  
  Useful links for grants and more information
  Grant for insulation and/or heating systems: https://tools.eeca.govt.nz/warmer-kiwi-homes-tool/
  Homefit Online check: https://tools.genless.govt.nz/individuals/homefit-online-check/