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Regions

Heat pumps in the Wellington regionWindy on the coast, colder in the valleys, damper than most.

Across the Wellington region, where you live changes what a heat pump faces. NIWA says low coastal areas such as Wellington and Paraparaumu need less heating than inland, higher stations such as Wallaceville and East Taratahi. The coast trades that for wind and salt, and damp and mould run a little above the national rate.

What differs across the region

Coast or valley

NIWA says heating degree-days are lower in low-lying coastal areas such as Wellington and Paraparaumu than further inland and higher up, and that the coastal sites also get more cooling degree-days. Wellington Aero averages 1,625 heating degree-days and 80 cooling degree-days a year.

Wind that changes by the valley

Wellington Airport's mean wind speed is 25.8 km/h, against 9.1 km/h at sheltered Wallaceville in the Hutt Valley, and the airport logs gusts over 96 km/h on 24 days a year. BRANZ says outdoor units must be stable, which takes more care on an exposed wall.

Little frost in the city

Kelburn records an average of 0 air frosts a year and about 10.5 ground frosts, mostly from May to September, and Wellington Airport averages no days below 0 degrees. MBIE's H1/AS1 guidance puts Wellington City in climate zone 3.

Damp and mould

In the 2023 Census, 22.6% of people in the Capital, Coast and Hutt Valley health district lived in a damp home and 16.8% lived with mould bigger than an A4 sheet, both above the national 20.6% and 16.5% (EHINZ).

Salt by the harbour

BRANZ's summary of the NZS 3604 maps puts homes within 500 m of the coast, the harbour included, in exposure zone D for sea-spray salt. Its Level guidance asks for extra anti-corrosive coatings on coastal outdoor units.

Heat pumps over burners

Only 18.5% of homes in the health district used a wood burner as a main heater in 2023, against 28.2% nationally, while 53.59% of Wellington City homes used a heat pump. Powerco's gas network serves the Wellington metropolitan area.

The rules, applied here

Plenty of homes in the city share walls: the 2023 Census counted 30,390 Wellington City households in flats, townhouses and apartments. Under a unit title, read the body corporate's operational rules before booking anything. In one Tenancy Services example, a rule bars external heating units on common property without the body corporate's consent.

However exposed or sheltered your street, a registered electrician makes the connection, because it's prescribed electrical work, and their Certificate of Compliance is due within 20 days. A pipe hole through an existing house is exempt from building consent up to 300 millimetres across, though the Building Code and the district plan's noise limits still apply from Ōtaki to Masterton.

Landlords have had to meet the healthy homes standards since 1 July 2025, and recirculating systems, products like HRV and DVS systems, don't meet the ventilation standard for kitchens and bathrooms. If you own and live in your home, look at Warmer Kiwi Homes: it's EECA's programme, and EECA alone decides who's eligible.

Our area pages cover Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, Kāpiti and Masterton.

Before anyone quotes

You can

  • Note whether the wall you'd use takes the wind or sits sheltered.
  • Get the body corporate rules if you share walls or a roof.
  • Run the extractor fans, and note which rooms stay damp.

Leave to a licensed installer

  • Choosing and fixing a bracket for an exposed wall.
  • Corrosion protection near the harbour or coast.
  • The electrical connection and the paperwork.

What we'd do

Our view for the region

On the exposed coast, we'd put the effort into the outdoor unit: a stable bracket, clear space around it and corrosion protection near the sea. In the inland valleys, where nights run colder, we'd pay closer attention to the heating capacity at 2 degrees. Anywhere in the region, we'd plan for the damp alongside the heating. If nobody close by takes your job within 48 hours, heat pump installers elsewhere in the Wellington region may see it too.

Cities in Wellington

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Read next

  1. 01Heat pumps in WellingtonDamp, wind, salt and close neighbours: what to get right on a heat pump in Wellington.
  2. 02Home ventilation systems in WellingtonDamp and mould in Wellington homes, and whether positive pressure or heat recovery suits your house.
  3. 03Heat pump servicing in WellingtonHarbour salt, damp and long winters: how often to service a heat pump in Wellington, and what to ask for.
  4. 04Ducted heat pumps in WellingtonRoof spaces, duct runs, body corporates and damp: whether a ducted heat pump suits your Wellington home.
  5. 05Do you need a consent for a heat pump?When a heat pump needs a building consent, what applies without one, and the noise limits for outdoor units.
  6. 06The healthy homes heating standardWhat the rental heating standard asks for, which heaters count, and how to check a heat pump against it.

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.

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