About Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart
Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart is an insulation and clean heating programme that will give more New Zealanders than ever before the opportunity to make their homes warmer, drier and more energy efficient.
It started on 1 July 2009, and aims to retrofit more than 230,000 New Zealand homes over a four year plus period. (Note: this target was revised up from 188,500 in the 2012 Budget). It is run by EECA and replaced all previous EECA home insulation programmes. The Government has committed to spending $347 million on the programme.
Better insulation means our homes are warmer, cosier, and easier to heat. Warmer, drier homes bring health benefits, especially for those with respiratory illness or other conditions derived from living in cold and damp houses.
Insulation requirements in the Building Code have increased over the years. This programme only offers funding to houses built prior to 2000, which is a way to prioritise houses that will have inferior or no existing insulation.
How many homes have been completed?
These tables show how many homes have been fitted with insulation and/or heating under the programme since it began on 1 July 2009 to the end of November 2011.
| November 2011 | Total (July 2009 - November 2011) |
|
| Low income houses - owner-occupied | 1,672 | 58,219 |
| Low income houses - rental properties | 463 | 14,029 |
| General income - owner-occupied | 2,401 | 64,490 |
| General income - rental properties |
226 | 7,084 |
| November 2011 | Total (July 2009 - November 2011) |
|
| Houses fitted with insulation only | 4,038 | 114,877 |
| Houses fitted with heating only | 565 | 17,285 |
| Houses fitted with insulation and heating | 159 | 11,660 |
| Total houses fitted with insulation and/or heating |
4,762 | 143,822 |
News
Thousands more New Zealand homes to be insulated
24 May 2012
An extra 41,500 New Zealand homes will be warmer, drier and healthier, thanks to the extension of the Government’s Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart programme
Read the media statement from the Minister of Energy and Resources Phil Heatley
Ratana to receive essential repairs and upgrades
20 December 2010
Media release from Minister of Energy and Resources
A new initiative to repair and insulate houses in Ratana township will significantly improve the quality of life for residents, and act as a showcase for the benefits of energy efficiency initiatives for other Maori communities.
