warmth.nz – underfloor heating

Cost-effective Home Heating

We provide luxurious, affordable, in-slab underfloor heating and hot-water heating to new build in Canterbury.

In-slab underfloor heating

Powered by air-to-water heat pumps generating radiant heat, our systems are very cost-effective.
You’ll love in-slab underfloor heating because it:
1. Is more cost-effective than most other forms of heating due to running at lower temperatures.
2. Creates a luxurious thermal environment by producing radiant heat. You will experience no cold zones, and the system WILL NOT blow allergens and bacteria throughout your house.
3. The slab acts as a giant heat store, giving a long-term heat.
4. Is silent, and as it’s underfloor, it takes up no living space.
5. By combining solar PV energy with an air-to-water heat pump, you dramatically reduce your dependence on mains electricity, and you can save as much as $150 per month on electricity costs.

Water heating

Heat pumps heat water up to three times more efficiently than conventional electric resistance water heaters. They are more efficient because they transfer heat from one area to another, rather than heat an area directly. Heat pumps are ideal for hot water cylinders, swimming pools and underfloor heating.

A heat pump works like a refrigerator in reverse. Free heat is extracted from the atmosphere at ambient temperature and then transferred efficiently to a water system via a heat exchanger. Depending on the ambient temperature, for 2 kW of electrical energy, you can usually expect up to 8kW of heat energy. In comparison, conventional electric resistance water heaters provide just 1:1 heat for each kW of energy used.

Coming up

Seminar

Creating a Healthy Homeon 25th July, 6PM (Refreshment 5:30)

Reserve your seat

Home tour

10 homestar SUPERHOME TourOn Sat, 11th August 11am Sharp

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home show

Canterbury Home ShowOn 12th, 13th, 14th October

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What People Say

Nino Kozlevcar, KOZLEVCHARchitecture

warmth.nz is a great team offering good quality product and excellent service. As an architect I can say that support in creating a unique solution for always unique design is very important. In architecture things are never a repeat solution and need to be designed specifically for requirements, however the experience in combination with theory is the necessary combination that warmth.nz is happily offering, sharing and this very much resonates with my personal believe in importance of sharing the knowledge and experience.

Bob Burnett Architecture (BBA)

We used warmth.nz underfloor heating in NZ's 1st 10 Homestar rated home. This system and the way it was integrated into the design and utilising other complimentary technologies was the biggest breakthrough in energy efficiency we have experienced in any project. We have installed similar systems by warmth.nz in almost all our BBA designs since. It is a dual system for both hot water and underfloor heating with a super efficient hot water heat pump powered by PV solar panels. The floor slab is fully insulated and effectively acts like a battery as it provides storage of solar-generated thermal energy.

Ivan Stanicich, Managing Director, Fowler Homes.

“Underfloor heating is a simple and affordable way of heating a whole house and it costs less than I thought. We recently provided a system supplied and installed by warmth.nz, our clients inform me it works extremely well. The entire warmth.nz team was great to work with. From design to quote thru to installation and commissioning. We recommend all new home builders & owners should consider underfloor & using warmth.nz”

Richard & Colleen Loffhagen, owners

“We love our underfloor heating. It is very economical to use and gives the whole house a magnificent feeling of warmth and comfort. We have found it has become more efficient to run as the slab dries and we set the controls to take advantage of natural heating gains. The installation and service of the system was easy and the team were great to work with”. Winner 2017 World Architectural News Best Modern Method of Construction project award, designed by MC architectural Studio in Christchurch NZ.

LiteGreen Projects

“We have used warmth.nz on a number occasions to provide hydronic underfloor heating solutions along with dual heat pumps and Hot Water Cylinders. Our clients have found them to be very professional providing a good service along with education on how the systems work. This element of the build is so crucial to the heating and performance of the home so having warmth.nz as a service provider adds further strength to our overall design and build offering.”

Latest News

Check in to see our latest projects, products and industry news.

WIN up to $5000 heating pipes in your new home’s floor!

Be a Winner. Win up to $5,000 worth of Underfloor Heating Pipes in your floor slab (enough for a 150M2 House). You only get one chance to put luxurious Underfloor Heating Pipes in your floor slab. But, now you can enter […]

2018 SUPERHOME FREE TOUR IN CHRISTCHURCH

The SUPERHOME Movement If you are planning to build an energy efficient home, please allocate some time for either of these 3 weekends in June and check out the homes featured on this year’s Superhome Tour. You will find innovative ideas new […]

warmth.nz work with LiteGreen for Sustainable NZ Homes

Built on TC1 land, this home rests on a fully insulated concrete foundation with in slab hydronic underfloor heating. This combined with a dual hot water heat pump connected to a 3.4Kw Photo Voltaic (solar) system provides the home with […]

Learn how Solar PV power might more than pay for itself

New Thinking Learn how Solar Photo Voltaic power can more than pay for itself with your underfloor heating and hot water. You’re invited because you have air to water heat pumps heating your floor slab and your hot water […]

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Our Partners

warmth.nz are part of the Superhome Movement and work with Architects and Builders that are experts in energy-efficient homes.

Our Team

Meet our talented, knowledgeable group of professionals.

Martin Reilly

Marketing Wizard

Martin sounds North American but is really a born and bred kiwi. He trained in architecture (in Kentucky) and lived in Chicago, developing an in-depth understanding of heating systems for cold environments. Martin brings a strong customer focus to the business.

Zsuzsa Zsiga

Office Manager

Zsuzsa is the central operating system for warmth.nz. Her daily work ranges from project management and general administrative activities. Zsuzsa loves to travel and garden in her spare time when she is not working on her physical fitness.

Hanshu Li

Information Tech

Hanshu is an IT whizz and has plenty of energy to support projects in the field and keep in touch with suppliers. Hanshu is a budding artist and is developing a talent for oil painting.

John Kipping

Underfloor Heat Guru

John is mad keen on electric vehicles and chocolate. He also has an interest in better quality homes for health and economic reasons and wants to see more homes with underfloor heating. When not working on heating related issues John is dabbling in forestry and carbon credits.

Kelvin Gao

Service Technican

Kelvin is training to be a quantity surveyor and is an expert fitout installer. Often working or studying, Kelvin likes to improve his language knowledge & learn more about his newly adopted country.

Contact Us

For a free expert consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions? Check our FAQs & call us for expert advice!

Is hydronic underfloor heating right for me?

It really is very simple and cost effective. However, there are a few things to consider and it is best to talk to warmth.nz to find out more. Anyone building a new house will get a benefit from hydronic underfloor heating compared to just installing wall mounted heat pumps. How to get maximum benefit requires consideration of insulation, house orientation to north etc. On this basis, some houses will be much more efficient to run due to thermal gain and design factors. Hydronic underfloor heating is superior to all other forms of heating.

How does it work?

Underfloor heating has been used for centuries. The Romans used it for home heating about over 2000 years ago.
The heat pump heats water and circulates it through a network of pipes laid in the floor. The house is divided into a series of zones or regions and controlled by a manifold placed inside the house. By circulating the water on a frequent basis the slab is evenly heated. Overall control is set by a thermostat placed in a neutral heat zone in the house. This means it will not shut down due to high heat from the sunny side of the house and keep on running due to being on the cold side of the house. The temperature can be programmed to go down to a pre-determined temperature before the heat pump starts heating the slab up again.
Hydronic heating with water pipes in the salb, is simply the best way of heating a home.

How do I get the best results?

This varies from house to house and personal comfort levels. We can advise on who to talk to regarding insulation, building materials, thermal gain and losses. We can also provide information on the best size of heat pump for in-slab heating and hot water heating.
Hot water heat pumps are as efficient as conventional high wall heat pumps. However, the whole house is heated and there are no draughts.

Am I better to have a higher capacity heat pump for underfloor heating?

Hot water heat pumps have similar efficiencies. A larger unit will cost more to purchase, run for a shorter period of time, and cost the same to run overall.

Do air-to-water pumps work on very cold days?

Yes, but not quite as efficiently as on warmer days. They will still be more efficient than other forms of home heating.
Note – a slab can store a lot of energy, so a house will not go really cold in winter – whatever the weather

Can I alter the temperature room by room?

You can turn rooms off but generally leaving them on means the house is evenly heated with minimal losses. The flow through every run of pipe can be adjusted to lower the relative temperature – hence it is easy to reduce bedroom temperature for example.

Is it expensive to run?

The maintain the same temperature, the system is only replacing the heat the house losing. The less heat the house loss, the less the system needs to run.
The system is controlled by a wireless thermostat. You can choose the temperature or running cost. The warmer the house, the more it costs to run.

Can I use an air-to-water heat pump for cooling like an air-to-air heat pump?

No. However, a well-designed house with adequate eves will be cool during summer times. We recommend that you consider ventilation to keep air fresh in your home.

How much more than air-to-air heating does this system cost?

Conventional heat pump cannot heat the floor, so the comparisons are not really relevant.

When the temperature of the concrete slab changes, will it affect my (wooden) floor?

No. If the slab is prepared properly and the wood applied correctly, the heat in the slab won’t affect flooring. Some carpet underlays may act as a thermal barrier, and you should check this with your carpet supplier.
The maximum floor surface temperature is 25 degree Celsius.