Alternative Forms of Heating For Your Home
- Home Heating - Considering Your Options (Booklet)
- Introduction
- Comparison of Different Heating Costs
- Further Information
Home Heating - Considering Your Options (Booklet)
There are many different factors to consider when choosing a form of space heating for your home. This handy booklet, Home Heating - Considering Your Options, was updated and reprinted by the Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment in August 2004 with support from the Community Support Levy.
The main topics covered in the booklet include:
- Introduction - How to get the most out of this booklet
- Glossary of Useful Terms
- Section 1 - Things to Consider Before Buying Your Heater
- Section 2 - Heating Options in Tasmania
- Section 3 - How They Did It: Four Different Households (case studies)
- More Information
This a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Reader is easy to download and is free of charge.
Introduction
Before you start thinking about what type of heater, think about your home’s thermal performance. Does your home have:
- ceiling, wall and floor insulation
- pelmets and curtains or blinds on all windows
- draught-proofed windows?
These items will reduce heat loss from your home. This may mean that you can choose a smaller sized heater. This could save you on both capital costs and running costs.
If you are building a new home or extending your current home, consider solar passive design principles to capture the sun’s warmth on sunny winter days.
Your choice of heater can affect the quality of the indoor air that you and your family breathe. Unflued gas heaters are not recommended because they emit a number of gases inside the home that can be harmful to health.
Most existing homes have too much airflow through them, especially on windy days – so don’t leave gaps under doors and around windows. It is better to have a relatively airtight home and then open up windows once a day to freshen the air.
Home heating choices can affect the environment, as described below:
- Solar passive heating - likely to have the least environmental impact of any home heating method.
- Electricity - a renewable energy source however there was an environmental cost in establishing new dams.
- Gas - combustion of gas emits some toxic pollutants into the atmosphere.
- Wood - generates particulate matter and toxic pollutants. This is a particular problem in some areas, like Launceston. Also, the removal of wood from forests can have a negative impact on biodiversity.
Comparison of Different Heating Costs
The following table is a rough guide comparing different types of heaters. A combination of cost, convenience, efficiency and flexibility has been used to give an overall assessment.
Table reproduced from Home Heating - Considering Your Options, page 19.
Further Information
Hard copies and further information can be obtained by contacting:
Environmental Liaison Officer
134 Macquarie Street
GPO Box 1751
Hobart TAS 7001
Phone: 03 6233 3373
Fax: 03 6233 3800
Email: EnvironmentEnquiries@environment.tas.gov.au
