Maintaining a consistent temperature within the home is key to staying comfortable year-round, even as outdoor temperatures fluctuate with the seasons. With winter now upon us and cold snaps impacting many areas across New Zealand, adjusting your heat pump to the right temperature will help ensure you stay warm and cozy indoors year-round. 

However, with the sharp rise in energy prices, maintaining a comfortable temperature inside the home shouldn’t come at an inflated cost. While heat pumps need to work harder to combat extreme weather, the secret to containing costs while maintaining the right indoor temperature is not over-heating the whole house. Remember, the higher you set your heat pump in winter, the higher the chances of unexpected bill shock. Every degree counts—and so does every minute.

The best way to keep costs low without sacrificing your family’s comfort is to ensure you’re using energy efficient heat pumps (and smart features) as much as possible. Here are our top tips to help keep your home—and family—warm and comfortable through the cooler months:

• Adjust the temperature setting: for cost and energy savings, changing the heat pump's temperature to a lower setting will help reduce electricity consumption. For example, instead of setting your system to 26 degrees, lower your heat set point to 23 degrees. The lower the set temperature, the less energy your heat pump will use, thus saving power.  If you have a ducted system, using the zoning feature will allow you to heat only the rooms that are in use which will help direct the heat to where it is needed most. Closing doors to unused areas will also help keep the heat where you need it.

• Winter mode: knowing the difference between winter and summer mode can help you keep your home at a comfortable temperature year-round. Switch your ceiling fans to winter mode and keep them on a low setting to help push warm air downwards and move it around the room to warm it up faster.

• Use timers: your heat pump doesn’t need to run all day or all night to keep your home comfortable and warm. The latest systems let users set up to four on/off times in a day, so you can better schedule the times you need your home to warm up. This ‘set and forget’ function lets you program your heating system to warm up your rooms before you go to sleep, then turn off to conserve energy, and start up again to ensure your home is warm and toasty the next morning before everyone gets out of bed. Using timers to start the heat pump outside of peak times, means the system uses less energy to reach the set temperature and can help you manage energy costs.  If you don’t know how to use your timer, click anywAIR technology ducted controller to find out!

• anywAiR® technology ducted controller: the Fujitsu General anywAiR technology ducted controller gives Wi-Fi control for Fujitsu ducted air conditioning systems via a wall mounted touch pad and remote access through the anywAiR app. The smart features available through the anywAiR technology ducted controller allows users to run a series of commands that can include turning the unit on and off, changing the mode or temperature, and selecting which zones are open. The MainTemp feature automatically selects the zone with the greatest difference between actual and desired temperatures. Once this zone is selected and the desired temperature is reached, a new room will be selected and the process repeated. Overall, maintaining ideal temperatures in select areas without using more energy than required has taken keeping homes comfortable this winter to a whole new level. You can learn more about our anywAIR technology ducted controller here.

• Consider air quality: maintenance can help your heat pump system run efficiently, so it’s important that your filters are regularly cleaned. Systems that also feature filters that capture fine dust, as well as invisible mould spores and harmful microorganisms, can also help you prioritise good air quality for your home in winter.

Heap pumps can help regulate indoor temperatures for your family’s comfort in every season.  For more information on how Fujitsu can help you beat the chill and warm your home this winter, visit www.fujitsugeneral.co.nz or contact Fujitsu General on 04 658 8761.