Habitat News

www.nzherald.co.nz

Unflued gas heaters found to be inefficient, with many negative impacts

As part of our activities for UN World Habitat Day 2008, Monday October 6, Habitat for Humanity New Zealand hosted a forum focusing on issues of substandard housing in New Zealand, entitled "Affordable and Healthy Housing for All."

At the Housing Forum, Dr Chris Bullen of Auckland University's School of Population Health, raised some of the concerns with the use of unflued gas heaters, including the worsening of asthma symptoms. For further details, read the New Zealand Herald article by clicking here.

Beacon Pathway also report¹ that a significant proportion of New Zealand homes use unflued gas heaters as a major source of heating, with many negative impacts. These include unflued gas heaters being:

Unhealthy – generating excess moisture, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and other hazardous indoor air pollutants.
Inefficient – because they produce wet heat, it is harder for people to hear their homes as wet air is harder to heat than dry air.
False economy – many people use unflued gas heaters in conjunction with a dehumidifier because of the significant moisture produced. Dehumidifiers are often poorly located and use significant energy.

¹ Beacon Pathway National Value Case