Temperatures and heating energy in New Zealand houses from a nationally representative study—HEEP

The household energy end-use project (HEEP) has collected energy and temperature data from a randomly selected, nationally representative sample of about 400 houses throughout New Zealand. This database has been used to explore the drivers of indoor temperatures and heating energy. Initial analysis of the winter living room temperatures shows that heating type, climate and house age are the key drivers. On average, houses heated by solid fuel are the warmest, with houses heated by portable LPG and electric heaters the coldest. Over the three winter months, living rooms are below 20 °C for 83% of the time—and the living room is typically the warmest room. Central heating is in only 5% of houses. Solid fuel is the dominant heating fuel in houses. The lack of air conditioning means that summer temperatures are affected by passive influences (e.g. house design, construction). Summer temperatures are strongly influenced by the house age and the local climate—together these variables explain 69% of the variation in daytime (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) living room temperatures. In both summer and winter newer (post-1978) houses are warmer—this is beneficial in winter, but the high temperatures in summer are potentially uncomfortable.