Look at home heating and insulation in combination, as improved insulation and draught-stopping can reduce your heating needs considerably, making clean heating possible. The Government's Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme 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). Open fires are now banned in some urban areas in Canterbury as they are a source of local air pollutants.

New woodburners are less polluting than open fires and older woodburners (typically those older than 2004). Check the air plan rules for your town, as woodburners cannot be installed in some homes. New woodburners must also be on Environment Canterbury's authorised burner list.

Clean heating in combination with good insulation is the best option.

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. Flued gas appliances are available as an option in the Government's Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme (www.energywise.govt.nz). 

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.