Insulating Homes in Windy Wellington

Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand is located on the southern tip of the north island and is the third most populous urban area in the country with a population of about 496,000. The population is exceptionally diverse, with an estimated 25% of the residents born overseas. The demographics are predominantly European (77%), followed by a strong Maori representation at 13%.

Best Quality of Life in the World

Wellington was named the city that had the best quality of life in 2018 by Deutsche Bank. Factors that were considered were pollution, traffic and commute, property price to income ratios and purchasing power. Most of the residents of Wellington live within three kilometres of the coast and the region has a wide range of landscapes, from spectacular mountain tops to beautiful regional parks and forests. Wellington is also where the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films were made.

Wellington Weather and Climate

The Wellington area enjoys a windy, mild, temperate marine climate. With top temperatures of 25°C in summer and minimum temperatures of 6°C in winter, Wellington really only gets a 20-degree range throughout the entire year. In fact, for a good six months of the year, average temperatures are between 17°C and 21°C. The winter season in Wellington is mild and short and comes with the occasional frost. In the hills and the Hutt Valley, frost is quite frequent, although it hardly ever snows. Although the actual temperature rarely drops below 6°C, it can feel a lot colder with strong southerly winds. The wettest months of the year are June and July and the average yearly rainfall is 1249mm.

Why is it so Windy in Wellington?

The Wellington area is known for being fairly windy. The Cook Strait which separates the north and south islands creates a wind-funnelling effect. This results in a high occurrence of strong winds around the southern coast of the north island. The rugged terrain causes the wind direction and its strength to vary. The Wairarapa coast is one of the windiest locations in the whole country. Winds up to 200 km/h have been recorded at Kelburn, and on the 19th October 1998 a gust of wind at 215 km/h was recorded at Hau Nui.

Protecting Houses Against the Elements

Even though Wellington doesn’t experience extreme temperatures, home insulation is still very necessary. Studies have shown that poorly insulated homes can have a detrimental effect on health, particularly for the elderly and people with existing cardio or respiratory conditions. They also lead to high energy consumption when heating systems are used excessively to keep the house warm. The government has been proactive in encouraging people to install ceiling and underfloor insulation in existing homes over the last decade. Millions of homes have now been thermally insulated and the effects on health have been very positive. Interestingly, energy consumption has not gone down as expected. This could indicate that homes in Wellington and the rest of the country are warmer on average than they were ten years ago.

Combining Reflective and Bulk Thermal Wall Insulation

Wellington lies in the Zone 2 climate zone and new houses require a minimum R-value of R2.9 in the ceiling, R1.9 in the walls and R1.3 in the underfloor, according to the Building Code. Wrapping the home in reflective insulation as part of the wall insulation design can be beneficial for a number of reasons. Firstly, it creates an added layer of protection against the windy and rainy weather. Secondly, it helps to maintain the necessary air gap between the bulk insulation and the exterior cladding.