How to heat your home in a more ecofriendly kinda way…

We speak to the experts to get their advice on how to keep our homes warm in a more sustainable fashion.

While you can simply whack an electric heater, wood-burning stove or gas heater into a home if it’s getting a bit cold, it’s very much a ‘treating the symptom, not the cause’ kinda scenario.

After all, if you can stop homes getting chilly – or, at least, as chilly – in the first place, then the need to heat them up isn’t as great – which is why more and more people are looking towards alternative, more eco-friendly, ways of keeping their homes warm.

Kerri-Ann Hooper, Director at Carnelian Projects, says that insulation is something that is becoming an increasingly popular consideration.

“More and more homes are having thicker insulation in all rooms,” she says. “Increasingly, people are asking for insulation between each wall inside the house to assist with the heating – and cooling – of the home.”

Architect Liz Giorgio of Space& in Melbourne, says the way homes are designed is having a significant impact on heating considerations. She says,

“The design of a building can affect how much heat is retained or lost, how effectively it is distributed throughout the home, and how much energy is required to maintain a comfortable temperature.”

How home design can affect heating

Liz says that there are five key considerations when designing a home – orientation, insulation, windows, building materials, and building layout.
“They can have a huge impact on heating requirements, and remove the need for artificial heating altogether,” she says.
“The orientation of a building impacts its exposure to sunlight, wind, and shade, while the level of insulation in a building can significantly affect how much heat is retained or lost.

“The type and placement of windows can also impact heating efficiency – double-glazed windows can help to prevent heat loss, while the placement of windows can be optimised to capture sunlight or create cross-ventilation to help regulate temperature.
“The materials used in building construction can also affect heating efficiency. Materials such as concrete and bricks have high thermal mass and can retain heat, while lightweight materials such as timber may require additional insulation to maintain warmth.

Hooper says that the ability to zone rooms is becoming increasingly popular – potentially moving away from the more ‘open plan’ living that was ‘in’ for quite a while.
“Another thing builders and clients are looking at more is how certain rooms can be closed off to maximise heat,” she says.

“For example, the kitchen and living areas being closed off with double doors or a barn door from back bedrooms to efficiently keep the heat in those areas.”

How heat recovery ventilation can help

Electrical suppliers are also exploring ways to heat homes in new, more energy-efficient ways, to support heating advancements in building design and construction.

Joel Seagren, Business Development Engineer at Fantech, says that the need to ventilate homes during winter with air from outdoors can cause the indoor air temperature to drop – consequently meaning that heaters need to work harder to maintain or achieve the required temperature.

And that’s where heat recovery ventilation comes in.
“It extracts air from bathrooms and wet areas, uses a heat exchanger to recover that thermal energy with 80 per cent efficiency, and then supplies it back into habitable spaces,” he explains.

“It does certainly play a role in reducing heat demand in a ventilated building.”

It means, in effect, that if air of 20˚C is extracted, ‘fresh’ air of 16˚C can be pumped back into the building, reducing or indeed eliminating the need to ventilate with outdoor air.
In addition to the air extraction unit, dome ductwork’s required, as is an HRV unit, which can take up space from half a metre wide to something resembling a washing machine for a larger home.

Joel says, at present, this technology is popular throughout Europe, including in Germany, Spain, France and Belgium, and awareness is increasing here in Australia – with 80 per cent of installations here in new builds.

“It’s a growing space here in Australia, probably most popular in the passive house, high-end space at the moment – we’re talking million dollar builds rather than volume builds – but it’s something that can play a significant role in reducing reliance on artificial heating.”

Certainly, one to keep an eye on.