Look at home heating and insulation in combination, as improved insulation and draught-stopping can reduce your heating needs considerably, making clean heating possible. Environment Canterbury’s Clean Heat Project targets both insulation and clean heating options in combination. Consumer has a very good, independent overview of all heater types for free.

Passive heating

The cheapest way to heat your home is to let the sun do the work for free.  Passive heating is best designed in at the preliminary design stage, so that house orientation, mass, window sizing and insulation levels can all be factored together.

Fires

An open fire is the most expensive way to heat your home, if you are buying wood (twice as expensive as a standard electric heater). They are also a source of local air pollutants in Christchurch and smaller urban centres.
 
Clean heating in combination with good insulation is the best option. The Christchurch City Council has a subsidy available for homeowners with Community Services Cards who change to clean heating.

Portable gas heaters

Portable gas heaters may seem to be a good, clean option, but they release up to one litre of moisture per hour and can make your home damp and therefore harder to heat.  They also produce harmful emissions – particularly carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide. If you wish to use a gas heater to heat your living spaces, make sure it is flued and that you use a recognised installer. Gas appliances are available as an option in Environment Canterbury’s Clean Heat Project. 

Heat pumps

Heat pumps extract the heat from the outside and release it inside. They are readily controllable, and cheaper to run - up to 3 times cheaper - than a normal resistive heater, depending on outside temperatures.

Dehumidifiers

Dehumidifiers are not the best solution for Canterbury. Because of damp winter conditions, dehumidifiers will use a lot of power and may not get rid of the moisture problem, a problem exacerbated if portable gas heaters are being used.

The best way to get a dry home is by preventing moisture build-up in the first place, through ventilation of the bathroom, kitchen and laundry areas.