Death by Cold

Oh boy, the days are becoming shorter, darker, and colder here in the southern hemisphere, a reminder that winter is fast approaching. Winter in Dunedin means a bitterly cold house, and just in case you still weren't convinced about the severity of cold New Zealand homes......

Last week, one of Dunedin's weeklies published a story about HomeSmart, a research program designed to investigate how to help Dunedin home owners keep their houses warmer during the "bitterly cold" winter months. Research shows that because of Dunedin's location and a high number of old wooden houses without insulation, homes here are even colder then others in New Zealand. The research team leader said that she had heard stories of people waking up to "frost on the duvet covers and ice on the inside of their windows" (Jones, Pam. March 26 2009 Dunedin Homes in Winter to be Studied. The Star. pg 4). Friends of mine have warned me that during the winter months, houses are often colder than the refrigerator!Brrrrr......

Previous studies have also looked at cold New Zealand homes. A 2006 study by the Commissioner for the Environment, showed more than one million people were living in cold, damp New Zealand homes below the minimum temperature of 18 degree C recommended by the World Health Organization.

In a presentation made to the NZ Government Treasury, Otago University researcher and healthy-housing expert Philippa Howden-Chapman demonstrated that New Zealand has low building code standards and there is high level of deferred maintenance, leading to poorly built homes that are cold and damp (Howden-Chapman. 2006. Housing in New Zealand: private assets with public consequences).

But that's not all. Recent studies also suggest that there is a relationship between cold homes and poor health. A 2007 study at the University ofOtago found that 1600 New Zealanders die every winter, more than during other season (Davie GS, Baker MG, Hales S, Carlin JB. 2007. Trends and determinants of excess winter mortality in New Zealand: 1980 to 2000. BMC Public Health 7:263). The researchers suggested that warmer homes could help keep people healthier during the winter.

So what's the problem? Why don't we just crank up the heater? Well, energy is extremely expensive in New Zealand and central heating doesn't exist. There is no gas main so most homes are heated with a heat pump, a heater/air conditioner contraption that converts outside air to warm/cool air inside your house. Heat pumps are becoming more and more popular as a "greener" alternative to coal (yes, coal is still used here!) and wood stoves.

We have 1 heat pump in the living room/dining room/kitchen. It works OK when the door to the rest of the house is closed, but this means that only one room is warm while the rest of the house is frigid, including the bedroom. And for some reason it's mounted by the ceiling, and heat rises, right......?

Anyway, here is a link to a good article about these studies and the consequences of a cold home.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/461848

Hope you are warm and healthy!