Improve heating and cooling

You can do many things to reduce the amount of energy you need to keep your home comfortable all year round.

If you are planning to build a new home, make your home energy efficient from the start. You'll recover any upfront cost with savings in the long term. A well planned, energy-efficient home may also increase the value of your home. With good design, you can reduce your energy bills without compromising your comfort. See our information on passive design.

For your existing home, there are also many ways to reduce energy bills, improve comfort and help reduce your impact on the environment.

Saving on heating costs

Try these ideas to reduce the need for mechanical heating:

• Insulate your ceiling, roof, walls and floors if possible.
• Seal draughts around doors and windows with weather strips, these only cost a few dollars per roll and stop air coming in.
• If your heater has timer switches and a thermostat, set them to heat the room to between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius just for the times you're usually at home.
• If your heater has a filter, keep it clean to improve airflow and efficiency. Read the maintenance instructions or contact the manufacturer to find out how to protect your health and safety.
• Close doors to rooms that you are not using, such as the laundry and bathroom.
• If you have windows or vents that are permanently open, keep the doors to these rooms closed.
• Open curtains during the day to let in the winter sun. Close curtains at night to stop heat loss.
• Use rugs or carpets on timber or slab floors.
• Consider double-glazing to insulate windows that cannot have heavy curtains.
• Cover the tops of curtains with pelmet boxes to reduce heat loss through glass windows.
• Fit down light covers and vent covers to prevent heat rising from your rooms into your ceiling.
• Dress appropriately to stay warm and reduce the effects of draughts. Put on a jumper before turning on the heater.

Heating options

If you are buying a new heater, consider what type of heater will suit your circumstances.

There are three types of mechanical heating: radiant, convective, and conduction:

• Radiant heating heats people and objects by direct radiation of heat. If you have large draughty rooms or bathrooms, radiant heating works best.
• Convective heating warms and circulates the air in a room. If you are heating a small room, convective heating is an effective choice.
• If you have large rooms with high ceilings, a combination of radiant and convective heating is best.
• In-slab floor or conductive heating systems are slow to warm and work best in a very cold climate where you need 24 hour heating.

See our information on types of heaters and their energy efficiency

Before buying a new heater, think about:

• Does the room need mechanical heating or will it be enough to eliminate draughts, improve insulation and dress warmly?
• How many rooms need to be heated and how big are they?
• How much will the new heater cost to run?
• How often and for how long will you need heating?
• What options do you have for powering the heater?

Saving on cooling costs

Try these ideas to reduce the need for mechanical cooling:

• Insulate your ceiling, roof, walls and floors if possible.
• Shade windows from the summer sun. Deciduous trees can be an attractive way to shade windows, walls and your roof.
• Close curtains to keep heat out when the sun is on the windows.
• Keep windows shut in the hottest parts of the day.
• Open up your home to breezes when it's cools outside.
• Make the most of natural airflow by opening low positioned windows to bring the breeze in and high windows to let the hot air out.
• Consider using roof ventilators, vented ridges, ventilated eaves and ventilated ceilings to allow heat to escape from your roof space.
• Remove obstacles that can stop the flow of cool air through your house.

Cooling options

If you are looking to buy a mechanical cooling system, consider what type will suit your circumstances.

There are three types of mechanical cooling systems: fan, evaporative coolers and air-conditioners.

• Fans are the cheapest to run and use the least amount of energy. If a fan is enough to cool your home, you can save a lot of money and energy.
• Evaporative coolers work well in areas with low humidity as the air can absorb water vapour. New evaporative coolers are usually the cheapest type of cooling to buy and are not very expensive to run.
• Air-conditioners use more energy and create more greenhouse gas emissions than fans or evaporative coolers. They work most efficiently in well-insulated homes. All air-conditioning systems must be installed, maintained and removed by a licensed technician.

Before buying a new cooler, think about:

• Does the room need mechanical cooling or is it enough to improve shading and ventilation?
• How big an area do you need to cool?
• How much will the new cooler cost to run?
• How often and for how long will you need cooling?
• Do you want one cool room or a system for more than one room?
• What options do you have for powering the cooler?

More information

See the following resources for more information about choosing a heater or cooling system:

• Your home technical manual - Heating and cooling
• Your home buyers' guide - Selecting heating and cooling

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