b'Radiant heaters Night storage heatersThese use glowing electric elements with re ectorsThese are permanently installed convection heaters to radiate heat directly onto you. and are ideal for people who are home most of the Advantage:time. They can spread warmth into several rooms, Good for heating an individual. forlowerrunningcoststhanoilcolumnheaters, radiant heaters, fan heaters and convection heaters, Disadvantages:but theyre not cheap to install. Inef cient at heating air in a whole room. Heating element could be are and safety hazard. Gas heatingYour options here includeued or un ued natural Radiant ceiling panels gas or LPG. The Consumers Institute of New Zealand Heating foil is inserted between the framing and thedoes not recommend un ued gas heaters. It suggests ceiling plasterboard, and a thermostat is buried inusing a type that isxed to the wall and where the the ceiling. This provides quick-acting warmth. ame is completely enclosed.Portable fan heater Practical tips for reducing draughts and maximising These supply a blast of warm air directly onto you.your heating ef ciency:They are good in a small room, but not for areas youLeave your curtains open when youre at home, need to heat over long periods of time. and open doors and windows to dry and air the Disadvantages:house whenever possible. Can be noisy and cause draughts. Use draught stoppers under doors. Not as effective as convection heaters for providing Block off openreplaces if youre not using them.general background warmth. Close your windows and curtains at sunset during Check:the winter months. Does it have a tilt switch? Keep connecting doors between rooms closed.Does it have a metal or plastic grille? If you have Heat only the rooms youre using.children playing around the heater, a plastic grille Place heaters away from windows.may be safer than a metal one. Check air-tightness of windows, doors andoors.Do you go forat or upright? Upright ones perform Wear extra warm clothing when its cold. better, but theyre more likely to tip over. Use ceiling fans on a low speed to help to distribute warm air in winter.Panel heaters Youllnd lots of information on home heating at These are convection heaters mounted permanentlyConsumer online, as well as a guide for calculating on a wall. They provide great background heat. the size of heater you need for the size of your room. Heat pumps Visit: www.consumer.org.nz. Heat pumps collect heat from the air outside a house and release it inside. Sizes vary from smallcapable of heating one roomto models of suf cient size and capacity to heat an open-plan environment.Advantages: Expensive to install, but cheap to run. They collect more energy than they use.picture: Rinnai NZDisadvantage: They are less ef cient the colder it is outside.96 |'