Awarua Synergy Celebrates 20 Years Of Healthy Homes in Southland

It was cake and team building day for Awarua Synergy this week as it celebrated 20 years in business.

Led by Sumaria Beaton-Sikisini - a Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year recipient in 2023, the healthy homes advocate still loves sharing her knowledge with the wider Southland community.

Just recently the team moved into the Stewart Island/Rakiura space to alleviate strain on the island’s residents and its electricity supply.

 A wraparound service was being offered that would support people in helping to keep their homes warm and dry, while also identifying members of the community that could be helped further by accessing government subsidy and working with banks. 

 Awarua Synergy is a Government contract holder for the delivery of insulation and heating subsidies, and the team also delivers public education workshops.

Sumaria's commitment also extends beyond insulation and heating installations – developing educational programmes and conducting workshops both locally and nationally. Her efforts have been described as "ground-breaking" and impactful.

 Sumaria said talking to businesses and community groups was her true passion, and 95% of the room will go away with some new learnings about how to keep homes warm and dry.

Ventilation was the key and examples such as hanging your washing outside or using a dryer was way more efficient than keeping the wet clothing inside.

“Moisture always travels to the coldest part of the home.”

Getting the balance between heating the home and keeping moisture levels at a minimum was the challenge, and sometimes the house can actually be too warm and still cause problems.

“Once people understand that they start to change their behaviours and then they make better decisions on where to spend their money.”

Sumaria said what they are noticing is that people will go and invest in the wrong areas, but they can offer the whole package to upgrade people’s home for efficiency.

“For example, people are upgrading their windows all at once but may not need to.”

Thermal curtains right down to the floor, and using window pelmets were often a much cheaper option for people.

What people may not realise was that drafts occur when all of the warm air ends up behind the curtains and then cools off.  It can even happen with double glazing.

Heat pump servicing was important at the moment, as people started to understand how to keep them running efficiently.

Awarua Synergy currently employs between 17 and 25 staff and contractors depending on the work that is on.