Early preview. We're still finishing this site, so some details shown are placeholders.
Find my installer

New Plymouth, Taranaki

Heat pumps in New PlymouthMild, but damp, salty and windy.

An installer for New Plymouth

Registration-checked installers in New Plymouth who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it gets in touch to quote.

  • Goes to installers who specialise in your job
  • Registrations checked before they hear about your job
  • Free for you: installers pay us for each job we pass on
  • Only the installer who takes your job gets your details

New Plymouth barely freezes, so a heat pump here is mostly about steady winter heating in very damp air. NIWA puts the mean 9 am humidity at New Plymouth Aero at 83.0% across the year, and the coast adds salt and strong gusts. Inland Taranaki needs far more heating, so tell an installer if that's where you are.

New Plymouth's climate, read for heating

Mild, with few frosts

On NIWA's 1991 to 2020 normals, via Wikipedia, July nights in New Plymouth average a low of 5.9 degrees and February days a high of 22.5. NIWA counts about 1.3 air frosts and 8.5 ground frosts a year at the AWS, and about 1.5 days below 0.

Heating, hardly any cooling

NIWA gives New Plymouth AWS 1,640 heating degree-days and 67 cooling degree-days a year, with about 5 days above 25 degrees. MBIE's H1/AS1 guidance puts the district in climate zone 2, and 53.15% of its homes used a heat pump as a main heater in 2023.

Very damp air

Humidity at the airport peaks at 86.1% in June, NIWA says, and inland Normanby and Stratford tend to be more humid still. In 2023, 20.7% of people in the Taranaki health district lived in a damp home (EHINZ).

Gusty

New Plymouth Aero's mean wind speed is 18.9 km/h, with gusts over 63 km/h on 83 days a year and over 96 km/h on 6.

Surf and salt

Homes within 500 m of the coast, or 100 m of a tidal estuary or sheltered inlet, are in NZS 3604 exposure zone D. BRANZ notes E2/AS1 adds zone E at breaking surf beach fronts, and says buildings close to breaking surf need washing more often to remove salt.

Colder inland

NIWA's figure for Stratford Dem Farm is 2,309 heating degree-days a year, well above New Plymouth's.

Which heat pump jobs come up here

A living-room heat pump for long, mild winters. With so little frost in town, EECA's advice to size on the 7 degree heating figure fits most coastal homes. If you're somewhere sheltered or inland where nights get colder, check the 2 degree figure as well.

Damp control. Warmth helps, but a heat pump's dry mode is no dehumidifier: Consumer NZ says a purpose-built one does that job better. If the house stays damp, a home ventilation system is the next step, and a ventilation specialist will check whether your joinery suits positive pressure.

Corrosion protection and servicing near the surf. Rinnai NZ, for one, makes the owner responsible for extra corrosion protection in sea air, and Mitsubishi Electric NZ says coastal systems may need servicing more often.

A short defrost on the rare frosty morning. Mitsubishi Electric NZ says the more moisture in the air, the more freezes on the outdoor coil, so in air this damp a brief pause is normal. Our guide to a heat pump not heating explains it.

Placing the outdoor unit in wind and salt

BRANZ says outdoor units must be stable, with at least 500 mm clear on the air inlet and outlet faces and 100 mm off the ground. On a gusty, salty site, look for the least exposed wall that still gives that space, with a bracket and fixings that suit the conditions.

Keep the condensate hose running to a drain or garden, as BRANZ advises, and the unit away from bedrooms.

What you can do yourself

You can

  • Wash salt off the outdoor unit with car wash liquid and a hose every 6 months, as Mitsubishi Electric NZ recommends.
  • Run the extractor fans and wipe window condensation on winter mornings.
  • Keep the outdoor unit clear of plants and debris.
  • Clean the filters regularly through the heating season.

Leave to a licensed installer

  • Corrosion coatings for a surf-coast site.
  • A bracket and fixings that suit the wind.
  • Refrigerant pipework and commissioning.
  • The electrical connection and the CoC.

What we'd do

Our take for New Plymouth

Near the coast, we'd spend less thought on frost and more on salt and wind: a corrosion-protected outdoor unit on a solid bracket, in the least exposed spot that still lets it breathe. We'd pair the heat pump with extractor fans that vent outside, and if the house still feels damp by the end of winter, we'd bring in a ventilation specialist. Inland, we'd ask the installer to size for much colder nights.

Questions people ask

Does a heat pump in New Plymouth need to handle frost?
Only occasionally on the coast: NIWA counts about 1.3 air frosts a year at the AWS. Inland is a different matter, so check the label's heating capacity at 2 degrees if you're out towards Stratford.
Will salt from the surf damage my heat pump?
It can speed up corrosion, Mitsubishi Electric NZ says, though living near the coast doesn't mean you'll automatically have problems. Extra corrosion protection, regular washing and servicing keep it in check.
Is dry mode enough for a damp New Plymouth house?
Not on its own. Consumer NZ says a purpose-built dehumidifier removes moisture more effectively than a heat pump's dry mode, and the unit isn't heating while it's drying.
Is gas heating an option in New Plymouth?
Powerco's gas network serves Taranaki, and a flued gas heater must be installed by a registered gasfitter. BRANZ puts heat pumps in its best efficiency group and flued gas heaters in its average group. See gas heating.
Can you find me an installer in New Plymouth?
Send the job and your postcode, and registration-checked installers who specialise in it can see it. If no one near New Plymouth takes it within 48 hours, heat pump installers elsewhere in Taranaki may see it.

Ready for the right installer to take a look in New Plymouth?

Your postcode and three quick questions. Registration-checked local installers who specialise in your kind of job see it, and the one who takes it gets in touch to quote.

Free for you. Installers pay us for each job we pass on.

Read next

  1. 01Heat pumps in TaranakiCoast against inland, damp air, gusts and surf salt: what heat pumps face across Taranaki.
  2. 02Heat pump installationWhich heat pump suits the room, how to size it, and what a good install and quote include.
  3. 03Home ventilation systemsWhat a home ventilation system does, the two main types, and how to tell which one suits your house.
  4. 04Heat pump servicingHow often to service a heat pump, what a good service checks, and why the warranty cares.
  5. 05Gas heatingFlued gas heaters and gas fires, LPG or natural gas, who installs them, and the paperwork you should get.
  6. 06Heat pump not heatingDefrost pauses, the wrong mode, dirty filters and the other reasons a heat pump blows cool air.

Where this information comes from

We don't publish prices. Every home is different, so an installer's written quote is the only real number. How we write and check these pages.

Find my installer