A clinic has been launched to get Dunedin homes ready for the battle against the winter chill.
The Valley Project community worker Charlotte Wilson said the free drop-in clinic - Heat-seekers: Healthy Homes in the Valley - was open to Dunedin residents wanting their homes to be warmer, drier and healthier.
"Come one, come all.''
The clinic was held in The Valley Project community rooms at 262 North Rd, Northeast Valley between 10am and noon on Tuesdays.
The clinic allows people to talk about issues affecting their homes and for them to be linked to free or low-cost services, ranging from getting a draught stopper, to receiving drapes from the Dunedin Curtain Bank, to government subsidies for insulation.
Legal advice would be on offer to people attending the clinic so if landlords failed to meet their obligations under The Residential Tenancies Act, which requires all rental homes to have ceiling and underfloor insulation installed by July 1, 2019.
"We are trying to be an easy link for people to find as much information as possible without any barriers.''
Four Northeast Valley residents have attended the clinic since it started on April 16.
The issues they faced were cold houses, expensive electricity bills and condensation.
Another hot topic discussed at the clinic was heaters and the information available, which ranges from choosing the right heater to warming up different spaces and the best temperature to set a heat pump.
A heat pump should be set at a temperature of 22degC or colder to be at its most cost-effective, Mrs Wilson said.
SHAWN.MCAVINUE @thestar.co.nz
