The latest figures from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) show that, to date, 6,173 homes have been improved in the Bay of Plenty region through the Government's Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart home insulation and heating programme.

A total of 91,506 houses across the country have taken advantage of the programme since it began in July 2009.

The Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme provides grants for installing insulation and efficient heating to keep a home warmer, drier and healthier, and research shows it makes a noticeable difference.

In an EECA satisfaction survey with homeowners who had their home insulated under the programme, 91% said they had noticed an improvement in the warmth of their house since the insulation was installed and 18% have put an improvement in their health down to the insulation.

EECA residential manager Robert Linterman says it’s great to see Bay of Plenty involved in the programme, and hopes even more residents will take advantage of the opportunity to insulate.

Mr Linterman says people wanting to install insulation and heating should think about doing it now because it’s still relatively warm and demand is lower than in the colder months.

To encourage even more people to accept the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart offer, EECA is running a new ENERGYWISE™ competition that will see 30 homeowners get the total cost of insulating their homes refunded.
A further 100 households can win an increased subsidy – up from 33% to 60% off the cost of getting their house insulated.

The ENERGYWISE™ competition runs until 31 May 2011.

For further information about the programme and the competition, visit www.energywise.govt.nz or call 0800 749 782.

Background:

Under the Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme homeowners with houses built before 2000 are eligible to get 33% off the cost of insulation up to a maximum of $1300, and $500 towards an efficient heater, once the house is fully insulated.

The government is investing $347.3 million over four years in the programme to retrofit over 188,000 homes with insulation and efficient heating systems by June 2013.

Who we are:

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is a Crown entity working to improve New Zealanders’ energy choices across all sectors of the economy, using tools such as grants, information, research, regulation, and partnerships with industry and the private sector.

EECA provides trusted, independent information and funding to household consumers through the ENERGYWISE brand, and to the business sector through the EECA Business brand.

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