Heat pumps in DunedinA heating city, with frost that depends on your suburb.

The heat pump jobs Dunedin homes ask for

Second units and replacements. At the 2023 Census, 77.68% of Dunedin City homes used a heat pump as a main type of heating. So the question is often less whether to get one and more where the next one goes, or what replaces a tired unit.

Heating the whole villa. A long central hallway with rooms off it doesn't share heat from one lounge unit well. A multi-room heat pump or a ducted heat pump can reach the bedrooms instead. With ducted, keep the ducts inside insulated space: BRANZ says losses can top 30% when ducts are overlong, full of bends or run through uninsulated spaces.

Brick walls. The pipe hole through brick takes different tools and sealing from a timber wall, so say what the walls are made of when you describe the job.

Burner swaps. Inside Air Zone 2, any burner installed after 14 April 2007 must meet the council's emission and efficiency limits, and Tenancy Services says wood and pellet burners need a building consent. A heat pump has no flue and makes no smoke, though it still needs a registered electrician to connect it.

Servicing and damp. A unit that heats from autumn to spring needs looking after, so see heat pump servicing in Dunedin. If the windows still stream once the house is warm, read home ventilation in Dunedin.

Sizing for your part of the city

EECA says to size a heating heat pump on its 7 degree capacity, then, where nights reach 2 degrees or less, check the 2 degree capacity is the same or higher. That second check matters most in Mosgiel, on the Taieri and in exposed spots.

Mitsubishi Electric NZ says sub-zero areas like most of the South Island need more heat pump than the same room in Auckland, or one of its models built for the cold. BRANZ adds that a heat pump doesn't replace insulation, so look at the ceiling and underfloor before sizing up. Our sizing guide walks through it.