Heat pumps for Inglewood and inland Taranaki
Under the mountain it is colder, a great deal wetter, and slower to clear in the morning. All three change the sizing.
Inglewood and Egmont Village sit at the foot of the mountain, Stratford is higher again, and Hawera spreads across the flat dairy country to the south. Inland Taranaki is noticeably colder than the coast, it gets a great deal more rain because the mountain wrings it out of the westerlies, and low cloud can sit on the slopes for days. A heat pump here is working against damp as much as cold, and for longer hours than one at the beach.
The mountain makes its own weather
Moist air off the Tasman hits Mount Taranaki, rises, cools and drops its rain, which is why the towns at its foot are among the wetter places in the North Island. Egmont Village and Inglewood catch a lot of it, Stratford sits higher and colder again, and cloud can sit on the slopes long enough that the ground never really dries.
Frost matters here in a way it does not on the coast. Away from the moderating sea, clear still nights get properly cold, so it is worth asking what a unit's heating output is at around 2 degrees rather than the headline figure taken at 7.
Expect the outdoor unit to run defrost cycles on frosty mornings, steaming for a few minutes before normal heating resumes. That is correct behaviour. What matters is that the meltwater can drain away rather than pooling and refreezing under the unit, which in this much rain is worth siting for deliberately.
Damp is the thing to solve
Persistent rain and long periods without sun mean these houses hold moisture. Condensation on the windows most mornings, mould on the south wall and in wardrobes, and washing that will not dry indoors are the standard complaints.
The instinct is to buy a big unit and blast it. That is the wrong answer for a damp house: an oversized unit hits the set temperature fast, shuts down, and leaves the moisture in the room, so the windows fog again as soon as it stops.
What works is a unit that holds a low continuous output through the evening, keeping the air moving and surfaces above dew point so the whole house dries out rather than just the metre in front of it. Set it around 19 or 20 and leave it. The dry mode earns its keep here more than almost anywhere.
Farm houses, dairy country and no gas
Beyond the town boundaries this is dairy country, and the houses reflect it: large, single level, added to over decades, and usually without mains gas. Heating all of a rambling farmhouse evenly is a different problem from heating a compact town house.
Where the roof space allows it, a ducted system gives the whole house one even temperature with nothing on the walls, and these houses generally do have the roof volume. A multi-split is the cheaper answer: one outdoor unit feeding heads only in the rooms that get used, which suits a house where part of it is closed up most of the year.
Against electric resistance heating a heat pump wins comfortably on running cost. Against a woodburner with farm firewood it does not, and it is worth saying so. Plenty of households here run both and use the heat pump for the long damp shoulder months and for getting warmth into the bedrooms.
Hawera and the distance south
Hawera is the better part of an hour from New Plymouth, and the job is planned to happen in one visit rather than two. Room sizes, ceiling heights, roof access, the switchboard and exactly which wall the outdoor unit will sit on all get settled at the quote.
Photos sent with your enquiry do most of that. If the house has grown room by room over the years, say so, because that is where the surprises live. The heat pump installation page covers how the day runs, the installation cost page has the ranges, and an annual service matters more in this much rain and frost than it would at the beach.
Towns covered
- Inglewood
- Egmont Village
- Stratford
- Hawera
Elsewhere in Taranaki? Your local installer also covers New Plymouth city, Oakura and the coast and Bell Block and Waitara. The full list is on the areas we serve page, or get a free quote for your place.
Want a price for your home?
Tell us roughly what you are heating and where you are, and your local installer will come back with a straight quote. Call 06 242 1201 or send it through.
Common questions about heat pumps in Inglewood and inland Taranaki
Is it really colder at Inglewood than in New Plymouth?
Yes, and wetter. You are away from the moderating sea and at the foot of a mountain that wrings the rain out of the westerlies, so the frosts are harder and the ground takes longer to dry.
Should I buy a bigger unit because the house is damp?
No, and it is the most common mistake here. An oversized unit heats fast, shuts off and leaves the moisture behind, so the windows fog again. A correctly sized unit running steadily on low dries the house far better.
What suits a big farmhouse out on the flat?
Ducted if the roof space allows, since one system gives an even temperature instead of several units and a cold hallway. A multi-split with heads only in the rooms you use is the cheaper answer where part of the house is shut up.
We heat with wood. Is a heat pump worth adding?
On fuel cost alone, if you have farm firewood, no. On everything else it usually is: heat in the bedrooms, warmth the moment you get home, drying through the damp months, and no hauling or ash. Most people here end up running both.
Ready to sort your heating and cooling?
You're connected with a local installer who sizes for mountain rain and frost rather than coastal averages. Call 06 242 1201 or send through your details for a free quote.