Southland District Council is exploring the possibility of a Healthy Homes project on Stewart Island/Rakiura, led by Awarua Synergy, to alleviate strain on the island’s residents and its electricity supply.

 

Group Manager Awarua Synergy Sumaria Beaton-Sikisini said the project would create a partnership between the Southland Warm Homes Trust, SDC and the Stewart Island/Rakiura Community Board EECA (Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority)’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme. It would ensure 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. 

 

To bring the plan to life, Awarua Synergy will spend a week on Stewart Island/Rakiura to scope the project, assessing properties and delivering Healthy Homes workshops.  “This is a good project for local residents who need assistance in keeping their homes warm and energy efficient,”  said Stewart Island/Raikura Community Board chair Aaron Conner.

 

Stewart Island/Rakiura residents are being encouraged to register their interest in the project and to be on the lookout for the team during scope week, September 23 to 27.

“Our Awarua Synergy team will be on the island assessing properties, hosting workshops and we’ll have a pop-up stall so that people can come and ask questions about what we do and how we can help,” she said.

Stewart Island/Rakiura is unique in that the community faces the same difficulty keeping their homes warm and healthy as people on the mainland, but with the added pressure of a limited electricity supply, she said.

 

The Stewart Island Electrical Supply Authority network is powered by five diesel generators at a central power station, and the power is delivered by 30km of overhead lines, 10km of underground cables and 35 distribution transformers.

 

“A commitment from these partners to working on the island would contribute to the wider energy project through energy efficiency and usage through improved insulation,” she said.

 

The idea was first raised by SDC representative Jared Cappie and Great South representative Steve Canny on behalf of Southland District Mayor Rob Scott during a Southland Warm Home Trust meeting. Subsequent discussions involving the Southland Warm Home Trust, Awarua Synergy, Great South, and SDC have begun to shape the project, Beaton-Sikisini said.

 

Awarua Synergy is a Government contract holder for the delivery of insulation and heating subsidies and has 20 years’ experience installing insulation and heating and delivering public education workshops.

 

“We believe everybody deserves to live in a warm, dry and healthy home and we’re just thrilled to be able to expand our services to Stewart Island/Rakiura through this project,” Beaton-Sikisini said.

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Wahoo!  You’ve got your new heat pump installed.   

Did you know that how you use and maintain your heat pump can have a significant effect on its efficiency?  That means if you use it correctly you can save on your power bill too. We’ve put together seven tips and trick to help you use your heat pump efficiently.

Heat Pump Optimal Temperature Settings

  • Heating Mode: Set your heat pump to a comfortable temperature, typically between 18-21°C. Avoid setting it too high, as this can waste energy.

Use the Right Mode

  • Heating and Cooling: Use the appropriate mode for the season. Avoid using the “Auto” mode as it can switch between heating and cooling, leading to higher energy consumption.

Fan Speed and Direction

  • Fan Speed: Set the fan speed to “Auto” to allow the heat pump to adjust airflow based on the room temperature. This ensures efficient operation.
  • Airflow Direction: Adjust the direction of the airflow to ensure even distribution of warm or cool air throughout the room. In heating mode, direct the airflow downwards; in cooling mode, direct it upwards.

Regular Maintenance

  • Clean Filters: Clean or replace the filters regularly to maintain airflow and efficiency. Clogged filters can reduce performance and increase energy use.
  • Outdoor Unit: Keep the outdoor unit free from obstructions such as leaves, dirt, and debris. This ensures optimal airflow and efficiency.

Insulation and Sealing

  • Insulate Your Home: Ensure your home is well-insulated to prevent heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer. This reduces the workload on your heat pump.
  • Seal Gaps: Check for and seal any gaps around windows and doors to prevent drafts and improve efficiency.

Energy-Saving Tips

  • Curtains and Blinds: Use curtains or blinds to block out the sun during hot days and retain heat during cold nights.

Professional Servicing

  • Regular Check-ups: Schedule regular maintenance with Awarua Synergy to ensure your heat pump is running efficiently. Professional servicing can identify and fix issues before they become major problems.

Additional information:

Heat pumps are only designed to heat the room they are in. If you want to heat the whole home, please ask about our ducted heat pump systems.

If you get home and want to heat the room fast, DON’T turn up the temperature! Setting the temperature any higher that 21 degrees will create high power bills.  Instead, turn up the fan speed. The fan will help push the warmer air around faster.

Need to service your heat pump?  Book now. 

Having problems with your heat pump?  Contact us.

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Did you know that, according to Branz (in 2023), around 37% of New Zealand homes have visible mould in the living room and bedrooms. We know that insulation and heating can help provide a healthier living environment, but ventilation plays a key role too.  High moisture levels make your home uncomfortable and unhealthy, and can damage its decor, furniture and even structure. We decided to bust some myths about ventilation and the part it plays in creating a healthy, warm and dry home.

 

Myth #1 I can just open my windows

Here’s the problem: activities like cooking, showering, and even breathing generate moisture.  And it’s amazing how much.  Cooking can generate 3ltrs a day and doing the dishes generates 1ltr a day. Even just breathing, perspiring and taking showers can have an impact.  If you dry your clothes inside, you will be generating huge amounts of moisture (up to 5ltrs a load). 

 

Not only that burning incense and candles, using perfumed sprays like deodorants and air fresheners or smoking and vaping indoors reduces indoor air quality.  Without proper ventilation, these pollutants can build up inside, leading to a variety of health issues like respiratory problems, allergies, and even mould growth.

 

Relying on infiltration or natural ventilation, like opening a window, isn’t really the best option. Some rooms may receive adequate ventilation, others may not. The truth is that you have absolutely no control over the airflow that comes from these sources. Opening the window also doesn’t work is in areas with poor outdoor air quality (for example in the city centre), extreme temperatures, security concerns or high levels of noise pollution.

 

We breathe in around 8ltrs of air per minute, which totals 11,000ltrs of air per day, so it’s easy to see how fast indoor air pollution could affect our health. Properly installed and ducted ventilation systems continuously remove the moisture-laden, stale air, replacing it with fresher, cleaner, drier air.

 

Myth #2 It’s expensive

It’s true that installing a ventilation system has an upfront cost.  However, once installed these systems are cheap to run and the benefits are extensive.

 

Heat and energy recovery ventilation systems typically recover 70 to 80% of the heat in outgoing airstreams and transfer it to incoming airstreams, saving a lot of money in heating the home.

 

Having cleaner, drier air all year round means a healthier living environment and less illness.  It’s often young children and the elderly who are most affected by living in a damp, mouldy home, but they often require the working members of the family to stay home and look after them when they are ill, resulting in lost income as well as potential long term health issues for the sufferers.

 

 

Myth #3 Only people with respiratory problems need a ventilation system

Did you know that damp and mouldy conditions can be major triggers for asthma? But it’s not just asthma sufferers that benefit from a ventilation system.  A constant supply of filtered fresh air entering the home can help to control pollutants in the indoor atmosphere, which can have a positive impact on the health of everyone in the family.

If a home does not have an adequate ventilation system and humidity is high, this can provide a perfect breeding grounds for dust mites. These dust mites and their airborne detritus thrive in homes that are not effectively ventilated.  When their detritus encounters the skin or is inhaled, it can cause allergic reactions, resulting in asthma attacks, eczema, watering eyes, itching, sneezing and a runny nose. These issues can be significantly reduced with an effective ventilation system.

In the summer, hay fever causes misery and suffering for many people. An effective ventilation system can filter out larger particles, such as pollen, preventing them from entering the home. Having a ventilation system in place means there is no need to open the window, which can cause a problem for those with pollen allergies.

 

Myth #4 There’s nothing I can do about the condensation on my windows

A recent My Health My Home survey found that 58% of homes experience condensation. 

 

Condensation is most noticeable in winter because there is a large difference in temperature between the inside and outside of the home. That means once the heating is turned off the inside temperature drops quickly and soon reaches the point of 100% saturation. As the air cools further, some of the water can no longer be held in the form of invisible water vapour and begins to form liquid droplets. Condensation is the most common form of dampness and will eventually lead to mould growth.  If it is left to develop over time then damp patches may start to appear on walls, which means that wallpaper may peel, and ultimately black mould will grow. This leads to musty smells, damage to the fabric of the house and it can even result in health problems.

 

Introducing adequate ventilation gently ventilates the home to transform a stagnant and stale atmosphere into a fresh, healthy and condensation free environment.

 

Myth #5 Only more modern airtight homes need ventilation

 

Today’s houses are constructed and designed to seal in the heat (or cool in the summer).  This means the houses maintain a much more stable temperature and energy bills are lower, but it is also making it much harder for them to ventilate naturally.  This means they need a ventilation system.  However, ventilation systems do not only benefit the more modern, airtight homes. 

 

A typical household produces about 12 litres of water per day from cooking, showering, and general living – the equivalent of a big bucket of moisture sloshing around your home. In addition, our busy lifestyle often means we spend most of our days out and about. That leaves little time to let fresh air in, particularly in cold weather when we often arrive home in the dark and certainly don’t want to fling open the windows then.

 

At Awarua Synergy our home assessment staff can recommend what is best for your individual home to make the maximum difference with your budget. Each set of circumstances is different – so be sure to chat to our expert team today.

 

Beat the damp – chat to the expert team at Awarua Synergy today on 0800 WARM SOUTH for your FREE, unconditional home energy health check!

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It’s well past mid-winter and those of us in the Deep South have felt every single degree drop. What’s more, cost of living has risen sharply, making most of us think twice before we turn on that heater.

Lucky for us, we have Awarua Synergy on our side.

Awarua Synergy, led by General Manager Sumaria Beaton-Sikisini, are the right people to talk to if you want winter warming solutions.

These are things that can be done right now that will absolutely make a difference to how your house feels, ensuring the rest of the winter is spent in a warm and healthy home.

Awarua Synergy offers free Healthy Homes workshops for workplaces and community groups that are packed with practical, low cost, common-sense tips and tricks to change the way your house, and your whanau, lives and breathes.

Sumaria recently gave a talk to volunteers from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), helping them better understand the services Awarua Synergy provides so that they, in turn, can give valuable advice to members of the community.

Sumaria talked attendees through managing moisture, creating thermal envelopes, the different kinds of heat and how your power bill is split up, explaining everything in her cheerful and engaging manner.

CAB Learning and Development facilitator Anne McCracken said the talk was most helpful.

“It will help our volunteers when a client calls in with queries,” she said.

Sumaria said the team at Awarua Synergy knows that sometimes heating your home can mean another bill that might be hard to pay, but they also know how important having a warm dry house is to our community’s health and wellbeing.

“Awarua Synergy provides free, unconditional home energy health checks throughout the

region. We also talk people through ways to make sure they are getting value for money, as

well as finding ways to help heat their homes and keep them warm,” Sumaria said.

“We also have resources to help you access subsidies and discounts to stay warm this winter,”

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This winter the team is helping whanau in need in our community by supporting Jubilee Budget Advisory Service in giving their team valuable information and advice around heating their homes.

Awarua Synergy General Manager Sumaria Beaton-Sikisini said Awarua Synergy had winter warmth products they were donating to Jubilee to share with their clients.

“Invercargill’s Jubilee team is now equipped with home energy-saving knowledge after Awarua Synergy’s training. They’ll share these tips to help residents stay warm, dry, and healthy this winter,” she said.

Operations Manager of Jubilee Budget Advisory service, Caitlin Baker, said this time of year can be difficult for people who may already be under financial pressure.

“Like us, Awarua Synergy is all about giving practical advice relating to Energy Hardship and respecting the true needs of our community. We are so pleased to be able to share their winter warmth products and to have our team learn this crucial information that we can pass to our clients,” Caitlin said.

Working with Jubilee was the perfect fit, Sumaria said.

 

“At Awarua Synergy we know that sometimes heating your home can mean another bill that might be hard to pay but we also know how important having a warm dry house is to our community’s health and wellbeing,” she said.

 

“The good news doesn’t stop there! We have resources to help you access subsidies and discounts to stay warm this winter. Want to learn more? Free workshops are available for workplaces and community groups – contact our team!” Sumaria said.

Awarua Synergy provides free, unconditional home energy health checks throughout the region. They also talk people through ways to make sure they are getting value for money as well as finding ways to help heat their homes and keep them warm, she said.

Photos:

Sumaira Beaton-Sikisini, Awarua Synergy (left) gifting blankets, wool, hotties and PJs to Caitlin Baker Jubilee Budget Services (right)

 Sumaira Beaton-Sikisini, Awarua Synergy training the Jubilee team

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While it might not be as dramatic as a burst water pipe, a leaking roof or a leaky building, you might be surprised just how much of a difference escaping air can make to your energy bills and the comfort of your home. Kiwi’s often spend 80% to 90% of their time in their home, especially in the colder months. It’s therefore important that your home provides the best possible living environment. Many houses in New Zealand are cold and damp in winter and leaking air can significantly contribute to heat loss.  We look at 5 places air may be leaking in your home.

 

Roof Space

Heat rises and over 40% of heat can be lost through your ceiling, so it’s important to get rid of any draughts of areas of air leakage.  A properly insulated roof space can help you save on your power bills.  Your roof space might also be a treasure trove of storage space. Access points such as hatches or pull-down stairs often lack proper insulation and sealing, allowing warm air to rise and exit through the roof.

 

Floor

Almost half of New Zealand homes are not properly insulated and we’ve all been in houses where you can see through the floorboards! Not only does this allow air to escape, it also allows for rising damp from under the house.

 

Light fittings, plumbing and outside vents

Holes around plumbing, ducting, light fittings and wiring that comes through the walls, floors and ceilings may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of home energy efficiency, but they can be major culprits of air leakage.  Pet doors and vents from things such as a rangehood, a dryer or shower can cause a lot of heat loss.  Gaps around these fixtures, especially on exterior walls and the ceiling, provide an easy path for air to escape or enter your home.

 

Doors and Windows

We ask a lot of our doors and windows and even when they may seem solid they often harbour tiny gaps and cracks that allows air to slip through.  With temperature fluctuations, and as wooden doors and frames age, these gaps can get worse.  Using draft excluders and ensuring doors and windows fit tightly within their frames will help.

 

Chimney

Fireplace chimneys are designed to vent smoke and gases safely out of your home, but they can also be sources of air leakage. When not in use, a fireplace chimney can act as a direct pathway for warm air to escape, especially if the damper is not properly sealed. Invest in a flue sealer to block off the chimney opening when not in use, preventing unwanted air leakage and improving energy efficiency. Blocking off unused chimneys is a must.

 

Awarua Synergy can help

Many homes in New Zealand are under insulated, allowing air to escape and damp to enter.  At Awarua Synergy we are experts in ensuring your home is warm and comfortable to live in, whatever the weather outside.  We offer a free home assessment and advice on how to improve the comfort of your home. 

Beat the chill factor – chat to the expert team at Awarua Synergy today on 0800 WARM SOUTH for your FREE, unconditional home energy health check!

 

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Southlanders are being urged to prepare for a warmer home this winter with Awarua Synergy.

Awarua Synergy provides solutions for a warmer and healthier home for southern families in need. They are working with local funders Te Whatu Ora and the Southland Warm Homes Trust, to deliver the Healthy Homes Initiative. This offers families access to subsidies covering the cost of heaters, thermal curtains, air purifiers, bedding, and more.

Terri Baker had just had her second child when Awarua Synergy trained home assessor Kiri Pudda visited her Gore home for an assessment. “I thought we were doing okay with the insulation and everything like that,” Terri said.

“We’ve got the insulation and our windows are double glazed because we got them all retrofitted over the years, and we had decent curtains.”
Kiri came in with her “expert eye” and made changes that have made a huge difference to the family of four, Terri said.

“Before we knew it, we had curtains on the front door, Curtain linings for the existing curtains in the children’s bedrooms, an energy-efficient mica thermic heater and flannelette sheets for my son’s room and an amazing Mitsubishi air purifier that we run pretty much 24/7 in our lounge and kitchen area.”

To have somebody come in and objectively look at your home and what you could be doing was eye-opening, she said.  “You think you’re fine, but you find there’s gaps and things that need tweaked.”

The Healthy Homes Initiative was established between December 2013 and March 2015 in the North Island and now recently launched in the Deep South. Initially targeting low-income families with children at risk of rheumatic fever who were living in crowded households, the breadth of the programme was expanded to provide warm, dry and healthy housing for a range of whanau throughout New Zealand.

Awarua Synergy also partners with EECA Te Tari Tiaki Pūngao Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority to help deliver the Wamer Kiwi Homes fund, which provides grants to cover the costs of purchasing and installing insulation and efficient heating for lower income homeowners.

“Awarua Synergy are just amazing and just so good at what they do, and everyone was fantastic to deal with,” Terri said.  “We’d had our house insulated earlier by Awarua, and our floors are mostly all wood but there’s no gaps in the wood now, no draughts and there’s hardly any condensation – it has to be really cold outside for the windows to fog up.”

“It’s such a great scheme, it’s for everyone and it’s great.”

 

Photo – Left Daughter Phoebe Baker and Terri Baker

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With winter on our doorstep, Awarua Synergy is striving to provide warm and healthier housing for southern whanau and community members in need.

Working with local funders Te Whatu Ora and the Southland Warm Homes Trust, they are delivering the Healthy Homes Initiative, which offers those in need access to subsidies to cover the cost of heaters, thermal curtains, air purifiers, bedding, and more.

Awarua Synergy general manager Sumaria Beaton said there was a real need for basic household items to help families during the colder months — items that help prevent hospital admissions.

The Healthy Homes Initiative is committed to helping those living in cold, damp, and unhealthy homes, focusing primarily on low-income families, pregnant women or women with a newborn baby, and children with rheumatic fever.

“This Healthy Homes Initiative funding is not just for those that are homeowners, it is also for those that are tenants living in rental properties,” Beaton said.

The initiative aims to increase temperatures in homes, particularly in bedrooms, during the colder months to help reduce respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, which can be worsened by cold indoor temperatures as a result of poor insulation and lack of air-flow.

Recently, an eco-panel heater was donated by Awarua Synergy and installed in the children’s sleeping room of the Murihiku Kōhanga Reo to help keep temperatures up during Winter.

With access to such resources, Awarua Synergy is acting fast to get to as many families as they can while the funding is still available.

Application for the initiative is completely streamlined and easy to access. To find out if you or someone you know is eligible for funding, the online form is available here.

For all other Insulation and Heating requirements, call Awarua Synergy on 0800 WARM SOUTH.

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Awarua Synergy general manager Sumaria Beaton is taking her healthy homes mission to one of the remotest areas of New Zealand.

She is travelling to the Chatham Islands where she will be running workshops with local residents around home insulation and heating, energy efficiency and the importance of avoiding humidity and moisture in homes.

“It’s a bucket-list item, but I’m also really excited to learn about how people living in the Chathams operate their own homes. They’ll probably educate me on a lot of stuff as well.”  She has been doing similar workshops all around New Zealand for the past three years.

“I’ve been travelling around South Island and training Whanau Ora navigators, and the Chathams trip is part of that.”  She’s excited about finding out how people operate their homes in a remote location.

The workshops around New Zealand are in addition to the numerous free workshops she has facilitated in Southland throughout the past decade or more.

Sumaria said she makes the workshops really interactive as she takes her suitcase full of home handywares everywhere she travels.

There were so many simple heating tips people could get on board with at minimal costs from using efficient showerheads, opening windows and ventilating for at least 20 minutes a day, putting backings on curtains, and rolling up old towels to prevent draughts.

“There’s an average of 1 tonne of moisture in a typical New Zealand home, that’s absorbed into all the wood and throughout the likes of carpet and furniture, so taking some small, achievable steps can make a big difference and help keep homes drier.”

“It’s giving people knowledge about how the whole of their house works, so they can figure out the priorities for their household.”

Different areas had different climate peculiarities – such as many parts of Southland having issues with dampness, whereas in Central Otago people had to combat a more bitterly cold, but drier atmosphere.

Sumaria is a member of the Insulation Association of NZ board and is also part of the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment energy hardship expert panel and reference group.

Gathering a lot of technical information together and translating it into everyday language was a big part of the challenge, she said.

“I really enjoy the lightbulb moments for people at workshops, like getting answers to questions they’ve thought about for years.”

Seeing people achieving warmer more healthy homes was a hugely rewarding part of her reason for starting Awarua Synergy almost 18 years ago, she said.

 

“I love when people put insulation in or get their heating changed over, the huge difference it makes for them.”

 

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Eleven Awarua Synergy staff have just graduated with a new BCITO insulation qualification that keeps them at the leading edge of a fast-changing industry.

The Invercargill-based company is anticipating another busy year as it ticks past 10,000 homes insulated in the region, and with an increased focus on Southland homes being liveable in both extremely cold and extremely hot conditions.

Awarua Synergy general manager Sumaria Beaton said during the past year they had been able to catch up on demand that built up during Covid-19, with more than 10,000 Southland homes now insulated by the Runanga-owned business since it began in 2005.

“We’ve caught up the Covid backload and we’ve got a really solid, dedicated team who have been doing an amazing job during the past year to assist Southland people to make their homes warmer and healthier places to live,” Beaton said.

She said the new staff qualifications were based around understanding the legal requirements for the use of insulation in new buildings and residential rental properties – as well as up to date knowledge around methods, tools, equipment and health and safety requirements.

Insulation needed be done by professionals as ill-fitted product can reduce effectiveness by up to half, she said.

New insulation standards have been required by rental properties since July 2021 and all new builds must now meet the insulation standards set out by the Building Code to create thermally fitted insulated buildings.

Beaton said the new qualification formally recognised the knowledge and skills of people in the industry who were striving towards achieving healthy homes for customers.

Awarua Synergy had a strong focus on climate change and future proofing homes so they would be resilient in both extremely cold and extremely hot conditions, she said.

“With Southland recently experiencing 30 degree plus days it’s important to remember that insulation works to keep houses cools in summer as well as warm in winter.”

Sun reflects into ceiling cavities and insulation stops heat from trasferring into your home, she said.

Beaton said she also anticipated that people needing to use their heat pumps for cooling would begin to become more common as temperature extremes became more common.

People were encouraged to get in touch with Awarua Synergy prior to winter to avoid the annual rush as temperatures plummet, she said.

The great year for the company was backed up by an overwhlemingly positive customer survey late last year, with a satisfaction rate of more than 90% across the more than 250 people surveyed.

Picture: Graduating with their new BCITO insulation qualifications are Awarua Synsergy staff ( L-R Back) Rahui Kapene, Darryn Jackson, Cornelius Cuthers, Tahna Ryan, Shanan Kapene, Alex Tini. (L-R Front) Sunia Fiso, Carlyn Kuresa, Josiah Tui and Qasvin Fifita. Jordaine Wixon is absent.

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