Heat Pumps
Heat pump are a versatile and energy-efficient heating solution that can also provide cooling during the warmer months, offering year-round comfort for any New Zealand home.
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How to select the right fireplace for your home
Choosing a fireplace for your home is an exciting and important decision that should be made with care. Whether you’re replacing an existing one or installing a new unit, you want to ensure you make the right choice for your individual needs and circumstances.
A fireplace is a fantastic addition to any living space, offering so many benefits that everyone can enjoy. In addition to a cosy ambience, it can improve the overall value and aesthetic appeal of a room, providing a perfect focal point for family gatherings and romantic evenings. A fireplace can also serve as an efficient heating source, reducing energy costs during the colder months.
When it comes to adding a fireplace to your home, there are numerous factors to consider, including lifestyle, the size of your room, how often you'll use the fireplace and what fuel you prefer. Consider your daily routine and how a fireplace would fit into it, and make sure there’s enough space for it to be placed in a safe location.
Gas fireplaces
Gas fireplaces are a great choice for those looking for an efficient and clean heating source.
They typically use natural gas or LPG and are known to have fast heat output, making them an ideal choice for colder climates. Additionally, gas fires can be turned on or off with the simple click of a switch, giving you complete control over your heating needs. Unlike a wood-burning fireplace, there’s no mess from newspapers, fire-starters, wood splinters, bark or ashes.
Several types of gas fireplaces are available, including traditional vertical-flued, direct vent, and power-flued.
Building consent requirements
While you do need a council consent for a wood burner, that is not a requirement for a gas fire. Instead, gas fires are certified by gas fitters, who take full responsibility for the installation process and will issue you with a Gasfitting Certificate of Compliance.
You can find more about New Zealand gas fitters at the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board website here.
It’s important to note that, if building work around the fireplace is required, this may require building consent.
Placement
It’s possible to retrofit a gas fireplace into existing open fires and as a replacement for built-in wood burners; however, placement of gas fireplaces has evolved from the traditional locations in family or living rooms.
Today’s interior design trends place them in any room where ambiance and warmth are desired, which can be just about any room in the house!
There are also see-through and multi-sided fireplaces, which can be enjoyed in more than one room at a time.
Thanks to innovative heat transfer systems, the warmth generated from the fire is not limited to the room in which it is placed but can be moved around or outside the house as desired.
Your local PlaceMakers team can help source what you need to get the job done!
Why are products marked Direct from Supplier or POA?
These products are ordered directly from the supplier or another branch for you. Our branch team will call you to confirm if we can source the product and let you know delivery time frames and costs (if any).
Once you accept this you will be provided a payment link to complete your purchase.
Here's what we'll do for you:
- This product is not currently sitting in your local store.
- Request this product by adding it to cart and completing check out.
- You will not be charged today.
- Next, your local team member will give you a call to help order it in, just for you.
These items are specifically sourced for you, and cannot be returned unless faulty, read more.
Alternative Products (0)
These products are similar and available as another option if your original product is unavailable.
Wood fireplaces
Wood fireplaces add a classic and cosy ambience to any home. They use logs as their main fuel source and are usually installed in homes with an existing chimney.
Well-operated, modern wood burners are energy efficient, produce low levels of air pollution and use one of NZ’s most renewable forms of energy. When lit, wood fires also add incredible atmosphere to a space that is hard to match.
Building consent requirements
Installing a wood burner requires a building consent, no matter where you live in New Zealand. You must have a building consent before you install, move or substantially change a fireplace or solid fuel heater to make sure that it’s installed properly and is safe to use.
To lodge the consent, you'll need detailed information about how the work to install the fireplace or wood burner will meet the Building Code. If you don't have building industry experience, you may want to ask the tradesperson installing the fire to manage the building consent process on your behalf.
Radiant or convector?
Radiant fires offer an intense, toasty heating effect – ideal if you’ve got high ceilings or poor insulation. Convector fires produce a softer, ambient heat through a cyclic convection effect. They heat more evenly but are better for homes with good insulation and low ceilings. Many models are 'radiant and convection', combining both heating modes.
Clean-air check
If you live on a property smaller than two hectares, you need to install a wood burner that meets National Environmental Standards (NES). This means they have emissions of less than 1.5 grams of particles for each kilogram of dry wood burned, and a thermal efficiency of at least 65%.
Models that meet these standards are also known as clean air or urban models, and most PlaceMakers wood burners are NES-compliant.
The Ministry of Environment has an up-to-date list of authorised wood burners that met the requirements of the NES at the time of testing. Pellet burners that have been tested and found to meet the NES for Air Quality standards for wood burners are also listed.
This requirement applies to all new wood burners installed from 1 September 2005. It applies even if you are replacing an older model or moving an existing wood burner to another location within the same house.
If you live on a property two hectares or larger, you can still install wood burners that do not meet the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality.
Open fires, multi-fuel burners, pellet burners and wood-burning cooking stoves are not included in the definition of wood burner, so are not covered by these standards.
There is no Ministry of Environment list of authorised multi-fuel burners (including coal burners) or open fires, as these are not recommended forms of heating because of the increased particulate matter emissions they produce. In some regions, councils may specifically control these forms of heating through rules or by-laws.
Your local PlaceMakers team can help source what you need to get the job done!
Why are products marked Direct from Supplier or POA?
These products are ordered directly from the supplier or another branch for you. Our branch team will call you to confirm if we can source the product and let you know delivery time frames and costs (if any).
Once you accept this you will be provided a payment link to complete your purchase.
Here's what we'll do for you:
- This product is not currently sitting in your local store.
- Request this product by adding it to cart and completing check out.
- You will not be charged today.
- Next, your local team member will give you a call to help order it in, just for you.
These items are specifically sourced for you, and cannot be returned unless faulty, read more.
Alternative Products (0)
These products are similar and available as another option if your original product is unavailable.
Ultra-low emission burners (ULEBs)
ULEBs are a new technology designed for installation in areas where older burners are outlawed. These burners meet stringent standards and are able to be installed in clean-air zones where all other fires are prohibited. They’re also highly efficient.
Your local PlaceMakers team can help source what you need to get the job done!
Why are products marked Direct from Supplier or POA?
These products are ordered directly from the supplier or another branch for you. Our branch team will call you to confirm if we can source the product and let you know delivery time frames and costs (if any).
Once you accept this you will be provided a payment link to complete your purchase.
Here's what we'll do for you:
- This product is not currently sitting in your local store.
- Request this product by adding it to cart and completing check out.
- You will not be charged today.
- Next, your local team member will give you a call to help order it in, just for you.
These items are specifically sourced for you, and cannot be returned unless faulty, read more.
Alternative Products (0)
These products are similar and available as another option if your original product is unavailable.
Local laws may apply
Depending on where you live, NES compliance might not be enough. New Zealand has strict air quality guidelines that determine which wood fires can be installed by region. The country is split into two zones – Clean Air Zones and Non-Clean Air Zones, with Clean Air Zones having specific requirements and restrictions. These are outlined below:
Rotorua Clean Air Zone:
From 1 November 2017, only wood burners that have an emission discharge of 0.60 grams of particles for each kilogram of dry wood burned can be installed in homes in the Rotorua Airshed.
Nelson Clean Air Zone:
If you are replacing a current wood fire, a low emission burner (NES-compliant) needs to be installed. If you are building a new project, an ultra-low emission burner (ULEB) needs to be installed.
Rural models
Rural models allowed on sections larger than two hectares are also available through PlaceMakers. They generally offer better overnight-burn capability than urban models, ideal for farmers keen for their fire to still be burning when they wake early in the morning. The trade-off is higher emissions and lower efficiency.
Your local PlaceMakers team can help source what you need to get the job done!
Why are products marked Direct from Supplier or POA?
These products are ordered directly from the supplier or another branch for you. Our branch team will call you to confirm if we can source the product and let you know delivery time frames and costs (if any).
Once you accept this you will be provided a payment link to complete your purchase.
Here's what we'll do for you:
- This product is not currently sitting in your local store.
- Request this product by adding it to cart and completing check out.
- You will not be charged today.
- Next, your local team member will give you a call to help order it in, just for you.
These items are specifically sourced for you, and cannot be returned unless faulty, read more.
Alternative Products (0)
These products are similar and available as another option if your original product is unavailable.
Size it properly
Working out the heating capacity (kW) required for your home is critical. Wood burners lack the fine control of a heat pump – too small and it won’t be able to keep your home at a healthy temperature, too large and you risk turning your home into an uninhabitable oven. As a rough guide, models under 10kW are best suited for smaller, well-insulated spaces, while large and/or poorly insulated spaces need more than 10kW.
For a more accurate gauge on the ideal output for the area you want to heat, use Consumer NZ’s calculator.
Free-stander or insert?
If you have an existing open fireplace, you can opt for an insert wood burner that fits inside the old fire cavity; however, it’s less efficient as you lose heat up the chimney. Free-standing models are the best option for newer households and can now be placed closer to walls with smaller clearances than older free-standers.
Your local PlaceMakers team can help source what you need to get the job done!
Why are products marked Direct from Supplier or POA?
These products are ordered directly from the supplier or another branch for you. Our branch team will call you to confirm if we can source the product and let you know delivery time frames and costs (if any).
Once you accept this you will be provided a payment link to complete your purchase.
Here's what we'll do for you:
- This product is not currently sitting in your local store.
- Request this product by adding it to cart and completing check out.
- You will not be charged today.
- Next, your local team member will give you a call to help order it in, just for you.
These items are specifically sourced for you, and cannot be returned unless faulty, read more.
Alternative Products (0)
These products are similar and available as another option if your original product is unavailable.
Other wood burner information
For more information on operating your wood burner efficiently and responsibly, what type of wood can be burned, modifications and more, visit the Ministry of Environment’s Frequently Asked Questions page on wood burners.
The information provided in this article has been collated from Ministry of Environment, Sustainability Trust, Consumer NZ, fireplace suppliers and council websites.
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PlaceMakers is your partner in building, and we're here to help get you stay sorted with knowledge and rewards to keep you ahead of the game.
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