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EARTHQUAKE UPDATE - FEBRUARY 2011
IS YOUR CENTRAL HEATING SYSTEM AFFECTED?
Following on from the 6.3 Magnitude quake on 22nd February centered near Lyttelton, some of our Canterbury customers may have experienced some damage to or interference with their central heating systems. Now the clear up is underway here is a list of some of the possible issues that may have occurred and what you should be aware of or get checked by us. Some of this may seem obvious, but it pays to check to ensure that any damage is identified as soon as possible
Fuel Tanks. Whilst diesel tanks for our systems are seismically restrained to a pad to prevent movement of the tank, some issues can still occur, notably with fuel lines from the tank to the house. Depending on installation fuel pipes may be laid on the surface or some may be subsurface, but where possible check for leaks or perforations.
Gas Bottles. Ensure that gas bottles are secure and mounted on a level surface. If your gas bottles have toppled in the quake, ensure they are securely re fastened in case of aftershocks and that any connections or valves are undamaged and not leaking.
Heating Controllers With power outages, you may find that your heating controllers have reset to default and will need reprogramming. Consult your installation manual to guide you through the steps required, but if you still have any problems call our service team.
Underfloor and Underground Pipes To date we have had no issues raised with underfloor or geothermal piping, but if you are concerned that your system may have lost pressure call us to discuss.
Hot Water Cylinders Cylinders pose by far the greatest risk of causing damage in a quake as a ruptured tank can be a significant problem. Despite being secured, in a quake pipework in and out of the cylinder may shear through the sideways forces exerted on the cylinder. If you notice any leaks, loss of pressure or hot water arrange for one of our service staff to inspect.
Wall hung equipment (boilers and radiators) With some homes experiencing significant structural and superficial damage to interior and exterior walls it pays to check that any wall mounted boilers and radiators are securely fixed to the wall. Also check pipe and fitting junctions to ensure that any sideways forces have not resulted in deformation of pipework.
These are just some of the things to check with regards to your heating system, but if you experience any other symptoms which you may think are quake related please let us know as soon as possible and we'll do all we can to help get you up and running.
Expos & Trade Shows
In order to spread the word about the benefits of warm water central heating, the CHNZ team is roaming the country visiting a number of expos and events. If you are in the area, please come and say hello. We would love to meet you and show you some of our products. You can also be guaranteed that our exhibit with it’s working radiators will be one of the hottest around!
2011 SHOWS
Wellington House & Home Exhibition, 10–12 July
Christchurch Star Home Show, 1–3 June
Canterbury Home Show, 14–16 October
CLEAN HEAT PROJECT
What is the Clean Heat Project?
Environment Canterbury's Clean Heat Project provides financial assitance to help Christchurch & Canterbury homeowners
and landlords using open fires or solid fuel burners to change to cleaner home heating.
From 1 April 2010, open fires and older solid fuel burners (older than 15 years) cannot be used during winter in Christchurch. Register with the Clean Heat Project to make the change to cleaner heating and get ready for winter 2010.
You are eligible for help if you:
Are a homeowner or landlord of a residential home located in the Christchurch Clean Air Zones 1 or 2
Have an open fire or 15 year or older solid fuel burner currently being used as the main form of heating in the main living area.
Central Heating New Zealand are one of the registered retailers and installers for the Clean Heat Project.
www.cleanheat.co.nz
WOOD PELLETS MAKE WARM WELCOME ECONOMICAL - WOODPECKER CASE STUDY
A Woodpecker Wood Pellet Boiler from Central Heating New Zealand has been featured in an Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority case study. Download a copy and read about how a 50kW wood pellet boiler and radiator system has changed the warmth and comfort of a Bay of Plenty accomodation provider.
AS SEEN ON TV3 NEWS - GEOTHERMAL ENERGY!
Monday 27th April 2009
Central Heating New Zealand was featured on TV3 news at 6pm on Sunday 26th April - click here to watch the story.
Our team was filmed working on a geothermal/ground source heating project for a domestic home in Canterbury. Very economical to run, geothermal is the only truly renewable energy and it is available everywhere. Other countries have been doing ground source/geothermal heating for years. In New Zealand we are only just scratching the surface of how this energy source can change how we heat our homes and businesses.
Unfortunately the news story did contain some errors. Please note:
1. The efficiency of a geothermal system is at least 5:1, not 3:1 as mentioned.
2. The price of installation depends greatly on the size of the system and the energy that is required. The costs given in the news story are estimates only.
Please also be aware that geothermal systems are not air-to-air systems, they are actually ground-to-water systems. This means the heat is transferred through out the home using radiant heat such as radiators and underfloor heating.
Learn more about Geothermal Heating and DeLonghi Geothermal Heat Pumps.
Right image: Director Lyall Smith being interviewed by TV3's Beverly Lockhart.
Images below: Installer Graham Bloor & Technical Director Lewis Smith working on the pipe installation while the TV3 cameras were rolling.
REDUCE COSTS FOR GEOTHERMAL PROJECTS WITH CONDUCTIVITY TESTING
PRESS RELEASE: 12th December 2008
Central Heating New Zealand, in conjunction with GeoEnergy Systems, is now able to offer full thermal conductivity and emissivity testing. This is a New Zealand first. Major cost savings can result due to completely accurate loop field design, which is essential for large geothermal projects.
Geothermal or Ground Source heating is really taking off in New Zealand and Central Heating New Zealand is at the forefront of this technology. The company is currently involved in 15 geothermal projects around the North and South Island.
Geothermal heating systems draw heat from under the ground using pipes in a vertical borehole or a series of pipe loops laid horizontally 2 metres below the surface. This extracts the most energy per kW of electricity used, with geothermal heat pumps working at an efficiency of at least 4:5:1 at below 0°Celsius. Geothermal heating and cooling is used for domestic and commercial buildings.
The main issue when designing a loop field is how much heat certain ground types can give out. This is called conductivity. Previously, computer modeling of loop fields has been based on predictive conductivity as opposed to definite data. The conductivity tester that CHNZ has is sourced from the United States. It has the ability to introduce a known quantity of heat into a loop field and log data over time. Extrapolation of the data determines the exact conductivity of the ground. This means cost savings for the customer by eliminating the potential to over-calculate the loop field requirement. This is emphasized in commercial systems where large loop systems can be reduced by up to 30% with accurate data. The cost of running the conductivity test is more than covered in this situation.
If you wish to get more info on Conductivity Testing, please contact us on 03 357 1233.