Our closest neighbor is Antartica

Did we mention there is no central heating in New Zealand? I'll admit to being one of those who before actually getting here, thought that others were just whining and "it couldn't be THAT bad", but no, it can. The temperatures lately have been highs in the 40-50’s (F) and lows in the 30’s (F) with humidity around 80-90%. With no heating, this seems a lot colder than the same temperatures in, say, Wisconsin.

It’s hard to believe we are living in a “developed” country sometimes.

The majority of houses here in Dunedin have wood burners or open fires. Some have gas fires too, but there is no gas line here in the South Island so they are run from gas tanks (like a propane tank for the BBQ). Radiators/central heating systems are not standard, and I've yet to see a radiator or forced air duct here. The closest thing to central heating might be heat pumps. These are electric heaters and look like air conditioning units. The units are usually placed in a single room or hallway and are designed to heat a room. If you want to heat a home it would be necessary to leave all the doors open or have multiple units. Everyone considers heat pumps to be equivalent to central heating, but that’s like saying a window AC unit is the same as whole house AC.

It’s not only the lack of heating; most houses are not insulated. Insulation only became mandatory for New Zealand homes in 1977. Double-glazed windows are only found on new high-end homes, and I haven’t seen weather-stripping anywhere. Dampness and condensation are problems with many of the homes here. Is it surprising New Zealand also has one of highest rates of asthma in the world?


For now we have our wool sweaters and heaps of layers and try to move around a lot. This weekend we borrowed a friend’s oil-filled space heater – we couldn’t stand the smell (like cooking oil) and also feared for toxic fumes so we aren’t using that one.

We bought an electric heater to face my desk so I’ll be warm when I work at home although everyone says this type of heater using too much energy. I don’t care at this point – it doesn’t have toxic fumes, and now I can feel my fingertips.

Other keep-warm options.
The Kiwis have a bit of a 'put up and shut up' attitude towards cold houses, and we are told to simply put on another layer of clothing. Or they just live in denial; we still see people wearing shorts and tee shirts when it’s sleeting out. When I mention the cold houses everyone says, “But you should be used to the cold coming from Denver." I wonder how many Kiwis would go back to having a cold house if they experienced central heating and double glazing.

I guess it's just what you are used to.