Regional Council Offers Homeowners Loan To Get Rid Of Old Fires

To help clean up Rotorua’s air the Bay of Plenty Regional Council is offering an interest free loan to help replace old fires and burners with new, clean heat appliances.

Regional Council Chief Executive Bill Bayfield said the loan scheme was an exciting and essential part of the programme to improve the quality of Rotorua’s air.

“This will make a huge difference to Rotorua’s air quality, in the same way a similar programme of work has done wonders with Christchurch’s air quality,“ Mr Bayfield said.

The loan scheme, known as the Hot Swap Loan, includes a home heating assessment and an interest free loan of up to $4,000, paid off over ten years.

Only Rotorua home owners in the urban airshed are eligible to apply for the loan to convert old wood burners and open fires to clean heat. The airshed is an area within Rotorua that exceeds the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality, and covers most of urban Rotorua. (See map)

This is the first time the Regional Council has embarked on such a programme.

“Our loan will make the cost of upgrading to clean heat affordable for homes in the airshed,” Mr Bayfield said. “We do recognise there's a segment of the community that our loans package won’t suit.”

“We will continue to work with other parties to consider ways we can help those in real hardship have access to better and cleaner heating,” he said.

Clean heat is about appliances that use fuel efficiently to heat homes and have little or no emissions compared to open fires and old wood burners. Clean heat options include clean burning wood burners, pellet fires, heat pumps and flued gas heaters.

“Homes with new efficient heating will be warmer and our air will be cleaner,” Mr Bayfield said.

“Being warm is just as important as having clean air to breathe. We recommend that homeowners stay warm and investigate which clean heat appliance will suit them best by getting a Home Heating Assessment.”

Requesting a home heating assessment is easy - call 0800 Hot Swap or visit www.hotswap.co.nz or call one of the regional council’s service providers.

The Facts on Rotorua’s Air Quality

Sixty percent of Rotorua’s air pollution in winter is caused by wood and other
solid fuel burners.

The National Environmental Standards for Air Quality sets the concentration limit of fine particulates at 50µg/m3. Rotorua regularly exceeds this limit, mainly in winter.

A 26% reduction in emissions is needed in Rotorua to meet the national standards.

Nearly 50% of Rotorua homes use some form of solid fuel burners as their main source of heating.

The vast majority of burners in Rotorua are at least fifteen years old and are past their effective life expectancy. They are therefore less efficient and produce more pollution that new models available today.

An estimated 7,650 homes need to upgrade to clean heat to meet the national standards.

Rotorua’s poor air quality causes adverse health affects. The most vulnerable are the elderly, the very young and those already suffering from respiratory conditions such as asthma

Medical research carried out in Christchurch, and in cities overseas, shows a clear link between high levels of PM10 pollution and increased hospital admissions for respiratory disorders.

The Hot Swap Loan is one of the major actions to reduce pollution, as set out in the Rotorua Air Quality Action Plan.

More information is available on our website www.envbop.govt.nz.

ENDS

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