The cost of achieving healthy temperatures in children's bedrooms: Evidence from New Zealand

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends minimum indoor temperatures of 18 °C to maintain health. In a study of 152 children's bedrooms in Wellington, New Zealand we aimed to establish the costs of following WHO advice, using standard heaters over eight weeks of autumn to spring to investigate household factors and heating behaviours that significantly increase heating costs. During the heating intervention a mean children's bedroom temperature of 20 °C (range of 17–23 °C) was achieved, over a mean period of 12.2 h per night, using on average 6.33 kWh per night. Five factors significantly affected energy use: keeping children's bedroom doors fully open, having three or more intervention weeks in mid-winter, presence of mould, housing built pre-1978, and the bedroom having two or more exterior walls. These data have important implications for the New Zealand Winter Energy Payment (WEP) policy, supporting low income households. Based on figures from this study, the projected cost to heat one child's bedroom (NZ$58 per month) equates to 46% of the 2021 WEP. The current WEP is insufficient to cover the costs of heating living areas and more than one child's bedroom and should be adjusted for number of children and climatic region.