Fuel types used to heat dwellings
Sophie Davies
Public
Seen by 316
The information currently collected in the census is all the fuel types (eg electricity, wood, mains gas) that are used to heat a private dwelling.
There has been interest previously in collecting different information on heating fuels (eg the equipment used, main form of heating rather than all forms), more detail (eg whether gas heaters are flued or unflued), and other types of information (eg whether dwellings have a ventilation system, fuels used for any purpose).
It is unlikely that the census could meet all these information needs, so we need to know more about customers’ needs regarding data on fuels and heating, and the value of collecting this type of information in the census.
Our current recommendations relating to fuel types used to heat dwellings
- We invite feedback on information requirements relating to fuels and heating and the value of collecting this information in the census.
See our preliminary view of 2018 Census content (page 52) for a more detailed discussion on fuel types used to heat dwellings.
See 2013 Census information by variable for information on the fuel types used to heat dwellings variable.
Laydan Mortensen Sun 3 May 2015 9:40PM
I suggest separating heat pumps from other electric heating. Heat pumps are strictly not electric heating - they use the refrigeration cycle to heat and only use electricity to power the compressor and fans. Also, heat pumps can be reversed to use as cooling, which affects summer energy requirements. Auckland lines company Vector names uptake of heat pumps, as well as solar PV panels and electric vehicles, as the three largest factors affecting future electricity demand (Vector Asset Management Plan, 2015).
Guy Marriage Mon 4 May 2015 7:53AM
BRANZ have been doing a lot of work in looking at what type of heating people have in their homes - but they could do with better information. Can you guys make sure that Branz have an input into this question?
Guy Marriage Tue 5 May 2015 2:02AM
Do you have a box to tick for source of power as well? ie Solar photo voltaic, or solar hot water, or wind turbine? Or do we just continue presuming that electricity magically comes from wires and that's all we need to know?
I ask this because i feel that the electricity market is changing rapidly, and will continue to do so over the next decade - so we should be startign to ask those questions now, so you can track its rise (rise to power...?).
Laydan Mortensen Tue 5 May 2015 3:26AM
Electricity companies already know where distributed generation is, since you need their consent to connect it to the grid. They also need to know so they can pay you for any exported energy, and make sure it isn't feeding into the grid during a power cut (for safety reasons).
Kay Wed 6 May 2015 9:50AM
I would be interested in uptake of solar power sources. To date this is unlikely to heat a whole dwelling but it may be used to heat water. An indication of countrywide distribution could be useful for future planning of promotional activities. I would also be interested in use of housing insulation which decreases heat loss. Slightly outside this thread's scope but related.
Kim Ollivier Sat 9 May 2015 3:55AM
In the previous census the Other category is not defined in the notes. It would be helpful to know what these were. I had a guess from an MBIE report that it might include Oil, Geothermal and Woodpellets from their 'Other' but I don't know.
Kim Ollivier Sat 9 May 2015 3:56AM
LM I am sure the electricity companies know a lot about their customers power use, more than their customers in fact. But I would not even bother to ask them for the information, it would be regarded as top secret!
Chris (facilitator) Tue 12 May 2015 1:40AM
Hi all, thanks for your comments so far. @kimollivier, the 'Other' category typically refers to diesel, petrol, kerosene and geothermal.
Do people think there is still a need a collect this data in 2018? Or are there better places outside of Census that might be useful?
Kim Ollivier Tue 12 May 2015 1:57AM
I doubt if there are other places that would cover the whole country. It would be a nightmare getting anything out of the dozens of power companies, let alone the lines companies for the number of solar panels feeding the grid. I think that this information would be very useful for planning for anyone trying to compete with the existing suppliers. I do support the comments above that it has to look ahead at new ways being introduced such as heat pumps, solar panels and heat storage devices such as passive panels.
Chris (facilitator) · Wed 29 Apr 2015 11:19PM
Hi all, welcome to the 2018 Census discussion on Fuel types used to heat dwellings. I’m Chris from Statistics New Zealand, and I will be facilitating this discussion. I look forward to hearing what you all have to say over the coming weeks.