New home comforts under spotlight

Heat pumps, Plasma screens, LCD televisions and set top boxes are household items many of us use on a daily basis. But how is our usage of these types of products affecting overall electricity consumption?

BRANZ is conducting a nationwide study titled ‘Key Energy Uses’ looking at how heat pumps are used, their performance, installation quality, electricity use (summer and winter) and temperatures in our homes with heat pumps.

Previous BRANZ research from the Household Energy End-Use Project (HEEP) – which monitored energy use in homes from 1996 – 2004, with the overall project completed in 2007 – found only 4% of households had heat pumps. This has jumped to 21% in 2008.

Lisa French, BRANZ Building Energy Scientist, predicts an increase in electricity needed for heating and cooling as heat pumps become more common and wood burners are removed. “The information found in this study will help us understand the electricity usage of heat pumps and how it can be managed, and how effective installation can increase its efficiency,” says Lisa.

The new study will also examine the changing scope of entertainment appliances used in homes. With the growth of LCDs and other entertainment devices, it is currently unknown how these changes are affecting electricity use.

HEEP identified entertainment appliances an area of electricity growth in New Zealand houses. High numbers of large LCDs and Plasmas are now found in our homes along with decoders and game consoles which are all increasing the amount of electricity being used. As homes are being made more efficient with higher levels of insulation it is important that all the savings are not used on other appliances.

“This new study will also give a better understanding of energy usage during peak load times of 5pm – 7pm. This is important when managing grid loads to ensure we all have power in our homes,” says Lisa.

The study involves energy and temperature monitoring of 160 dwellings, and social surveying of households throughout New Zealand with heat pumps for 11 – 12 months. While overall results of the study are due in 2012, project outputs where useful will be made available as they come to hand.

The ‘Keys Energy Uses’ project is funded by BRANZ from the Building Research Levy, Transpower, EECA and CRESA.

ENDS

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