Six Home Energy Audit Toolkits, which aim to identify heat loss, fight damp and mould, and support energy efficiency, have been distributed to libraries across the city and can be borrowed — just like a book — by anyone with a library card.
Dunedin City Council eco design adviser Lisa Burrough said each kit included tools to measure air temperature and moisture levels, find heat loss due to poor insulation and check the moisture levels of firewood and the power consumption of appliances.
Together the tools will help homeowners identify ways to make their homes warmer, drier and healthier, as well as ways to save money on power bills and reduce their carbon footprint.
Each kit also comes with complete instructions for the use of each tool.
The council is among the first councils in New Zealand to invest in the kits, after they were introduced in Auckland, Mrs Burrough said.
Each kit cost about $200 and funding came from the council’s energy plan budget.
The six kits were in addition to five already made available for use by community groups.
Mrs Burrough said the toolkits were part of wider efforts to address Dunedin’s problem with old, cold and damp housing, which contributed to higher heating costs and poorer health outcomes.
