Home Insulation Package
A warm home is one of life’s simple pleasures, especially on a cold winter day.
The National Government’s home insulation package, announced as part of the ‘Road to Recovery’ budget, seeks to ensure that more people in the Horowhenua and Kapiti region live in warmer, drier and healthier homes.
My electorate offices have had heaps of enquiries about this very positive announcement and I felt you may all benefit from some more details about the scheme.
This $323 million dollar programme is to be rolled out over the next four years and starts next month.
The National Government is offering to pay a third of the cost of installing ceiling and under floor insulation, up to $1300, in homes built before 2000. Homes with sufficient ceiling and under floor insulation may also access $500 for clean heating devices like approved log burners, pellet burners, heat pumps, or fluid gas heaters. There is no income cap on who is eligible to apply. Extra support is available for those with a Community Services Card.
It is likely that the capital cost of your home heating might be around $6,000. Some electricity companies and banks have indicated they wish to become fund partners. This means, for example, home owners receive the Government grant and borrow the rest - repaying the money through their power bill or a small mortgage.
Research tells us for every $1 spent on insulating cold houses, there is a $2 return in energy and health savings.
Better insulation helps reduce energy consumption, puts less pressure on our electricity network and cuts consumer energy bills.
There are health benefits, especially for those with respiratory illness or other conditions derived from living in cold damp houses, and for the elderly and young children who are vulnerable to the cold.
It will also create more local jobs in the building and construction industry which is great news for our region.
People wanting to access the funding should visit the following website www.energywise.govt.nz or call 0800 749 782.