Community
Fifteen years of keeping Southland and West Otago people warm was celebrated on Friday, (24 August) by the Southland Warm Homes Trust (SWHT).
The SWHT, in conjunction with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and has completed over 9,000 home insulation retrofits and contributed to over 1,000 heat pump or wood burner installations in Southland and West Otago since 2008.
“We’re delighted to be celebrating this milestone in making Southland homes warmer and healthier,” says SWHT chair Lesley Soper.
“Through its work, the Trust has made a real and positive impact on the health and wellbeing of our communities, and that’s something we’re very proud of.”
The Trust provides funding in conjunction with the current government programme called Warmer Kiwi Homes. The subsidised insulation and heating programme targets homeowners on low incomes or those living in low socio-economic areas.
The success of this programme in recent years has resulted in the Government committing further funding of $402 million in May 2023, over four years, to extend and expand the programme beyond June 2024. This funding is administered by EECA through local service providers who meet installation and health and safety standards.
Under the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme, with the additional support of the Trust’s funding, eligible homeowners can have up to 95% of their ceiling and underfloor insulation costs or a new efficient heating unit (heat pump or wood/pellet burner) subsidised. To be eligible, homes must have been built before 2008, and the homeowner (owner-occupier) must have a community services card or own and live in an area identified as low-income.
In addition to the EECA programme, SWHT and Awarua Synergy offer other subsidies of up to $2,000 for households with high health needs, or situations of financial hardship, to install insulation or an efficient heating unit.
“We’re very grateful for the successful and supportive local funding partnerships, particularly with Electricity Invercargill Ltd and The Power Company Ltd, but also with our local, territorial authorities and other community funders,” Ms Soper said.
“It’s pleasing that the work of the SWHT represents a truly collaborative `Southland-wide’ effort. Many regional organisations have supported it, and many people’s lives have been changed for the better.”
The SWHT was established in June 2008 by Electricity Invercargill Ltd and the Southland Electric Power Supply Consumer Trust as an umbrella group to drive a Southland-wide initiative to provide warm, insulated homes. The Trust’s vision was to ensure Southlanders have more energy-efficient homes, an improved living environment and well-being, better health and greater energy efficiency awareness.
Today, the Trust’s partners include Awarua Synergy, Southland Home Ventilation, Premier Insulation, and Hotspot Installations who are contracted to install insulation and heating under the Warmer Kiwi Homes Programme. PowerNet provides administration and financial reporting services on behalf of the Trust.
“Although the funding structures have changed over time, our Trust’s vision of warmer, healthier homes endures. We’re looking forward to continuing this important contribution to Southland’s well-being into the future,” Ms Soper said.
Funding under the EECA Healthy Homes Programme is targeted to those who benefit most from insulating their homes—low-income households with high health needs, including families with children and the elderly.
“Our organisation Awarua Synergy is proud to be part of this programme, and strives to continue educating and providing insulation, heating and other interventions into as many homes in Southland as possible”, Ms Sumaria Beaton of Awarua Synergy said.
Research has shown that for every $1 spent on insulation for a low-income family, there is a $4.50 return on investment by reducing the number of people walking through hospital doors.