Installing a polyester blanket as part of the Waitati
Energy Project Retrofit Roll-out is Energy Smart's Rodney
Timney. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
The Ross family have huddled around their fire to keep
warm for the past four years, but hope this winter will be
different, after being accepted for the Waitati Energy Project
Retrofit Roll-out.
They are among 170 low-income homes in Dunedin's northern
suburbs and towns to receive advice and an 80% subsidy to
insulate their homes through the $485,000 Energy Efficiency
and Conservation Authority-funded contract.
The Ross family live in a 100-year-old railway cottage in
Waitati that is mid-way through a major renovation, with a
deadline of the end of May, when their second baby is due.
Jason Ross said the three-bedroom house was in desperate need
of insulation as despite putting in a good heating system, it
barely kept one room warm.
He and his partner Kate Fitzharris could not afford to do all
the work at once, so seeing the insulators arrive yesterday
and begin insulating the ceiling of the home was a huge boost
just before winter, he said.
"It's a really cold house. We live around the fire so we are
pretty hopeful this will mean the heat will spread a lot more
and we can feed the fire a lot less."
Roll-out spokesman Scott Willis said after holding meetings
and attending community group gatherings in the past six
weeks to spread the word about the project they had 173
homeowners registered.
Their homes would be scoped for their suitability and
assessed to ensure they met the criteria, which included
being eligible for a Community Services Card.
"We want to make houses here warmer, healthier and more
energy efficient, as well as providing some economic
security."
The project was being co-ordinated by the Otago Regional
Council's Clean Heat, Clean Air programme manager Robyn
McKeown.
She said Waitati, like many other areas in Dunedin, was in
serious need of insulation assistance and the community had
been proactive in pushing for funding in their area.
"There has been an amazing uptake. They've done so much work
to identify homes."
The project was among the $4 million being spent on retrofits
in Otago this financial year, $2 million of which was funded
by the authority. Other funding came from a range of
organisations such as Aurora, Community Trust of Otago and
city and district councils, she said.
Authority manager residential, Robert Linterman, of
Wellington, said 43% of heat was lost through ceilings, so
that was a lot of people "heating the planet".
- rebecca.fox@odt.co.nz
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