Tips and Advice

The best heating options to keep your home warm this winter

Article by Your Home and Garden

Here’s how to keep your home nice and toasty this winter with the latest and greatest in heating

It’s looking to be a cold and wet winter for Kiwis this year, so it’s worth investing in some winter warmers. We all want our homes to be a reprieve from the chilly weather, not an ice hotel. Read on to find out what’s cool in the world of heating, as well as what you need to know about the latest technology.

Heat pumps

Expect your smartphone to play a bigger role in your heating going forward. More and more heat pumps are coming with smart technology that allows you to heat your home anytime, anywhere. Daikin has unveiled Madoka, a touch button controller you can control from your phone. Simply put, it’s a stylish and more minimalistic option than the usual remote-on-the-wall situation. Mitsubishi Electric uses wifi control from your phone to allow you to change fan speeds, airflow direction, temperature and modes all from your back pocket. Heat pumps are also getting slimmer and more aesthetically pleasing, from a range of colours and styles to suit everyone.

Electric heaters

Electric heaters are popular due to their low cost and portability. Now many are made with energy-efficient designs, as well as improved safety features, and will provide quick, directional heat. When picking a heater, consider the size of the room you want to heat. For a small room (10-13sqm), 1500W is ideal; for a medium room (13-17sqm), look for models that can provide 2000W; and for a larger room (up to 20sqm), 2400W will be sufficient.

Kogan 2kW black glass portable electric panel heater, $79.99, from Kogan, Dyson purifier hot+cool fan heater, $999 (usually $1,249), from Dyson

Underfloor heating

In the past, underfloor heating used to be a costly process to install, but nowadays it’s a lot easier to treat yourself to a warm bathroom floor. No more searching for your slippers under the bed each morning, you can now get inslab, undertile, wood and laminate, and even undercarpet heating. They’re simple to install, some even offer DIY kits for the savvy Kiwi homeowner. Hybrid systems also allow underfloor heating to be used in combo with heat pumps, solar panels and other heating sources to reduce overall electricity costs.

Electric blankets

Electric blankets have been given the makeover treatment too. Not only are they safer than their predecessors, but multi-zone blankets are available with individual heating zones, such as body and feet, to suit all kinds of sleepers and sleeping preferences. As a plus, they’re not only for under the sheets. Retailers such as Kogan, Kmart and Farmers stock electric throws so you can cosy up on the couch and binge-watch your latest streaming obsession.