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A third of Kiwi homes are too cold in winter and too hot in summer, Stats NZ says

January 29, 2020

A Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) survey has found that a third of Kiwi homes are either too warm in summer or too cold in winter.

In a release today, Stats NZ said those homes that were too cold were of particular concern, as they were below World Health Organisation standards for healthy homes.

Wellbeing and housing statistics manager Dr Claire Bretherton said the survey included about 6700 homes and took about a year to complete.

Indoor temperatures recorded inside the homes ranged from near freezing during winter in a small number of homes to more than 30 degrees during summer in others.

"We measured temperatures where the interview took place, likely to be in a living room or kitchen, which are more commonly heated than bedrooms or other parts of the home," Dr Bretherton said.

For people living in homes where the temperatures were measured at less than 16 degrees in winter, 45 per cent said they could see their breath inside and 36 per cent said their home was always or often cold.

People who said they didn't have enough money to pay for everyday needs, and those living in homes they didn't own on average experienced colder indoor temperatures in winter.

Stats NZ officials said they wanted to undertake the survey because "in New Zealand, houses are not always at safe and comfortable temperatures, but the extent of this problem is not known".

More information on the survey is available here.

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