In search of New Zealand’s oldest hot water heater

MEDIA RELEASE

In search of New Zealand’s oldest hot water heater.

8 May 2007

If you have an old hot water heating system then BRANZ would like to hear from you! BRANZ is on the hunt for New Zealand’s oldest hot water heater as part of ongoing research to try to better understand energy use in New Zealand.

“Approximately one third of the energy used in the home is by hot water heating and because it uses a large chunk of energy we’re really interested in finding out as much as we can about their use and history,” says Nigel Isaacs, Principal Energy and Environmental Scientist at BRANZ.

Although hot water is largely taken for granted, it has been widely available in New Zealand homes for a relatively short amount of time. Just over 60 years ago, the 1945 Census reported 27% of houses did not have a hot water service.

Over time the coppers, chip heaters and kitchen ranges of old have been replaced by gas and electric hot water systems. Almost all New Zealand homes now have a hot water system, but 90% of them are electric.

In conjunction with the Radio New Zealand National’s “Sounds Historical”, programme during May and June, the Household Energy End-use Project (HEEP) is running a competition to find New Zealand’s oldest hot water heaters.

“We’re looking for the oldest system in four categories – electric storage, gas storage, gas instant and other systems. We’ll be giving away copies of the BRANZ book Maintaining Your Home as prizes,” says Nigel.

“What many people don’t realise though is that hot water is a major part of their household energy bill. The cylinders eventually fail, but before then could be costing money if they leak, are uninsulated or they are the wrong size for the requirements of the family,” says Nigel.

The BRANZ team are well-qualified to assess the merits of hot water systems. HEEP has monitored energy use in four houses from Invercargill to Kaikohe. More information on the competition is available on the BRANZ web site: www.branz.co.nz

ENDS

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