How Awarua Synergy helped a Southland Family

When Nena bought her home in Otatara, she wasn’t thinking about insulation. Her family was told that there wasn’t any insulation in the ceiling, but all they could think about was having a place of their own.

But once winter fully set in, it was a different story.

We had to do something

At first, Nena simply turned on the heaters throughout the house. But with a large 4-bedroom home to heat, the place never seemed to warm up. That was something the family was willing to deal with… Until it started to affect the X-month old baby.

Nena has a baby monitor that flashes when the temperature drops below 14∞C. With the chilling winter winds battering the uninsulated house, the monitor flashed for days on end, even with all of the panel heaters on max. “It flashed at us all night.” Nena said. “The temperature in her room was only 6 degrees. We had to do something.”

Polite and helpful

After researching the issue, they decided that installing some insulation would be the best option. They called a few companies for an inspection and quote, and several of them were pushy, rude, and insistent. Nena didn’t want to work with someone like that.

Then she called Awarua Synergy and it was like a breath of fresh air. “They were very polite and helpful.” She said, noting how the assessor told them the benefits and let them make their own decision without any pressure. They made an appointment for ceiling insulation shortly after.

The actual installation process went smoothly and was much quicker than Nena expected. “They started around the time I went to work and they were done by lunch.” She said, surprised the crew was so efficient. Her family remarked that they were polite and friendly, and even tossed in a few jokes to lighten the mood.

Not a penny more

One thing that Nena was most pleased about was how the quotes and pricing was done. The upfront quote for her home was approximately $3500, which included materials and labour for her large 4-bedroom home with two lounge suites and dining rooms.

As Nena had experienced working with companies where the quote is a lowball estimate, she was shocked to find out how much Awarua Synergy charged. “It was exactly the same as the quote. Not a penny more.”

Wish I’d done it earlier

As pleasant as Nena’s experience was with Awarua Synergy, she wasn’t about to take any chances when it came to the health of her daughter. After the insulation was installed, she hired an independent inspector to do a quality inspection. They found the work to be flawless.

And Nena noticed that firsthand shortly after. The same night the insulation was put in, she noticed the baby monitor wasn’t flashing. And it hasn’t since. A temperature check showed that the room stayed at 16 degrees. A temperature that is cool, but not risky for the baby.  Nena was ecstatic and very pleased with the results. “It made a huge difference. I wish I’d done it earlier.” She said, adding that winter would have been much easier to endure if she had installation put in sooner.

When asked if she would use Awarua Synergy again, she said “Absolutely. They did a great job.”

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The July 2019 changes may affect you!

There isn’t much time left to get your rental house in compliance with the new insulation laws that take effect in July 2019. Remember, insulation is mandatory if you’re planning to rent your property after that date. If your current insulation doesn’t meet the new standard or you refuse to have the property insulated, you’ll be hit with a heavy fine that could be as high as $4000.

Insulation doesn’t need to be installed in every wall of the house. At a minimum, the property must have both ceiling insulation and underfloor insulation.

It’s impossible to insulate my home. How do I avoid the fine?

Fortunately, if your home is built in such a way that it’s impossible to add insulation in the underfloor and ceiling cavity—such as apartment buildings with living quarters both above and below the unit—you don’t have to have insulation in those areas. It must be reasonably practicable to have insulation installed, but you can’t simply claim that installing insulation is too difficult on your own. Several conditions must be met, including:

• It must be inspected by an experienced company who are professionals in installing insulation.
• The company must determine that they are unable to install insulation without doing substantial renovations or causing damage to the property.
• Or the company decides that installing insulation in the property will create a health and safety risk for the inhabitants.

How do I know if my insulation is good enough?

Simply having insulation isn’t enough. It must also meet certain minimum values as defined on the Insulation Regulations page. The entire South Island is considered a Zone 3 area and requires insulation with a minimum R-value of R 3.3 for the ceiling and R 1.3 for the underfloor.

Of course, someone unexperienced with insulation wouldn’t be able to determine the R-value of insulation by simply looking. There are a few things to look for that can help however, including:

• If you have access to the ceiling and underfloor, check to see if there is any insulation. If not, call us right away for a quote.
• If you’re able to see the insulation, check to see if there are any obvious holes or tears. These will need to be repaired as soon as possible.
• You could also check the council building file and see if insulation is noted in the file.

Book your insulation appointment right away!

As July 2019 is quickly approaching, slots are filling up fast. You don’t want to be forced to pay the fine because you waited too long to make an appointment! If you had your insulation done through us and lost your certificate or you’re unsure of your insulation status and need a professional insulation team to take a look, call us today or fill out our insulation compliance form now.

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The EECA is investing in Kiwi Homes

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) has welcomed the Government $142 million investment to make Kiwi homes healthier.

This spending in a new four-year programme, known as Warmer Kiwi Homes, will make the homes of lower-income New Zealanders warmer and drier by providing grants to insulate and heat homes, says EECA Chief Executive Andrew Caseley.

“Too many homes are cold and damp, leading to preventable diseases such as rheumatic fever and asthma. That’s a burden on Kiwi families, as well as the health system.”

Mr Caseley says some parts of the community are particularly at risk.

“Low-income families, young children and the elderly are especially vulnerable to the impacts of living in cold, damp housing.”

The first year of the programme will focus on ceiling and underfloor insulation as the highest priority for creating a warm, dry home, Mr Caseley says.

“Homes that aren’t properly insulated are very costly to heat, with heat escaping through the ceiling and underfloor.”

“Lower-income homeowners will be able to access grants covering two-thirds of the cost of installing ceiling and underfloor insulation.”

Grants to install heating appliances will be available from July 2019, Mr Caseley says.

Warmer Kiwi Homes will be delivered by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) which is working through details of the new grants programme.

For more information: Senior Communications Advisor Penny St John 027 687 3123 or penny.stjohn@eeca.govt.nz

Frequently asked questions

When will the new Warmer Kiwi Homes start?

Homeowners can apply for grants from 1 July 2018. Further details will be posted on EECA’s Energywise website – www.energywise.govt.nz

Who is eligible for grants?

Those on low incomes who own and live in their homes (not landlords) are eligible.

Low income will be defined as those who either:

• Have a Community Services Card, OR
• Live in a New Zealand Deprivation Index decile 9 or 10 area, OR
• Are families referred through the Ministry of Health’s Healthy Homes Initiative.

What do the grants cover?

The grants cover ceiling and underfloor insulation and ground moisture barriers.  From year two they will also cover the installation of a heating device.  Details on which heating devices will be funded are still being worked through.

How many homes will be insulated?

EECA estimates 52,000 houses will be insulated or have a heater installed over the four years of the programme (some will receive both). 

Why are heating measures being brought in later?

Heating measures will be added from 1 July 2019 to align with the heating standards being developed under the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act. Insulation is always the first priority for creating a warm, dry home.

Note to Editors

The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) is the Crown agency that encourages, supports, and promotes energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the use of renewable energy in New Zealand. EECA provides information to households through

ENERGYWISETM www.energywise.govt.nz and to businesses through EECA BUSINESSTM www.eecabusiness.govt.nz

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ANZ Bank New Zealand today announced $100 million in interest-free loans to help Kiwis insulate their homes. ANZ’s CEO, David Hisco, said the bank would make available to its home loan customers interest-free loans to help cover insulating their houses. “Cold, damp and mouldy homes are a major problem in New Zealand, resulting in many health problems, expensive energy bills and degradation of properties,” Mr Hisco said. “ANZ wants to help New Zealand resolve this major social, environmental and economic problem.

Properly installed insulation can transform an unhealthy home literally overnight and vastly improve the quality of life – particularly for children.” The interest-free loans will be available to ANZ customers who currently have home loans from next month. The loans will be repayable over a maximum of four years and be for a maximum of $5000 per house for up to two houses.

They will be available to homeowners and landlords who use registered builders and certified insulation installers. Mr Hisco launched the initiative today at the Expol insulation plant at Onehunga with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. Ms Ardern said dry, healthy homes have been a priority of the Government. Its new Health Homes Guarantee Act requires rental homes in New Zealand to meet minimum heating and insulation standards.

The Government offers $2000 insulation grants, and acknowledges the work of organisations that help make New Zealanders’ homes warmer and drier. Mr Hisco said insulating the floor and ceiling space of an average three to four-bedroom home would cost about $5000-$7000. A $5000 interest-free home insulation loan would cost a homeowner about $100 a month to pay off over 48 months. He said ANZ’s purpose as a company was to shape a world where people and communities thrive and to do that it had decided to focus strongly on three areas that customers and staff told it were important to them – housing, environmental sustainability and financial literacy.

*The interest free home insulation loan initiative is subject to ANZ’s normal terms and conditions, including affordability and LVR restrictions, and will be reviewed after six months. 

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And the winner is…

The Southland Warm Homes Trust (SWHT) is pleased to announce the winner of its 2017 Southland Property Management Company of the Year Award is Pride Property Management for the second consecutive year.

The award was presented to Pride Property Management at a function on Wednesday 29th November 2017.

Southland Warm Homes Trust Chairman, Jim Hargest said the award recognises property managers who are actively improving the living conditions of tenants and supporting the vision of the SWHT.

 “Pride Property Management has continued to be proactive in helping make healthier living environments for tenants.  They have been engaging with landlords and promoting energy saving ideas with tenants.  They have also been actively insulating many of the properties under their management,” he said. 

This is the second year the award has been offered and a range of entries were once again submitted from across the region.

“All the entries had a strong focus on improving the energy efficiency of rental properties and meeting the Tenancy Services rental property insulation regulations.  The Trust was impressed by the effort and commitment Southland property management businesses have towards improving the energy efficiency of rental properties, especially ahead of the July 2019 Tenancy Act legislation when all rental properties will be required to meet a high standard of insulation,” Jim said. 

Awarua Synergy General Manager Sumaria Beaton said, as the service providers to the SWHT, when working with Pride Property Management it was noted they were always proactive in ensuring the team had safe access to tenanted properties, and required Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority (EECA) subsidy paperwork was completed in a timely manner. Therefore making our job a lot easier, and building a good working relationship.

The 50% subsidy offered by SWHT and EECA on insulation costs for eligible rental properties is due to end in June 2018.  Anyone interested is encouraged to contact Awarua Synergy (0800 WARM SOUTH). 

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Awarua Synergy was a runner up!

 

In 2017, on Friday 23 June, during the Puaka Matariki KUMA hui, the Suzanne Spencer Memorial Business runner up Award was presented to Awarua Synergy

Background

Suzanne Spencer was a mentor, advisor, supporter, advocate, and tireless supporter of numerous businesses and business people in the Māori community in Otago and Southland.  Working for Te Puni Kōkiri, Suzanne used her extensive network across the country to establish and organise what became the Māori Business Network, Te Kupeka Umaka Māori ki Araiteuru, or KUMA.  

Unexpectedly passing away in 2012, the Māori business community wanted an appropriate acknowledgement of Suzanne’s vision for Māori economic growth, and contribution to the local economy through new and growth businesses run by and with Māori innovators, entrepreneurs and caiman.  So, with the blessing of her husband Frank and her daughters Jackie and Esther, the Suzanne Spencer Memorial Business Award was launched, to be passed on to a KUMA business at each annual hui.

The previous recipients of the Award have been:

2012: Ngāi Tahu Law Commission

2013: Te Anau Holiday Park 

2014, Awarua Synergy, and 2017 runner up

2015: at the ten year commemoration of KUMA hui, there was a joint presentation to all who had been members continuously for ten years.

Runner Up Award

The award nominations were based on innovation within a business, as runner up award our application was based on our Lean Management programme and the implementation.

Our team attended a six-month Lean Management training programme with Venture Southland and Lean Management specialist Clinton Yates.  The programme has been a game-changer for our team.    Based on a Japanese concept, many world-leading companies have adopted lean principles, the core idea is to maximize customer value while minimizing waste.  Simply, Lean means creating more value for customers with fewer resources.  A Lean organisation understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it. The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste.

Since implementing the programme, our business has increased productivity by at least 30%.  The area with the most improvement for our team was producing a process map.  Our industry is prone to changes from subsidy levels introduced by government, clean air rules with loan schemes, and the Landlord tenancy act changes requiring Landlords to do insulation.  These changes can create confusion within a team.  Since Lean Management, the implementation of changes to our process has been a lot easier for the team to understand resulting in good customer service.

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New laws going into effect for rental properties

The government has announced it will be strengthening new residential tenancy laws.  The government want to see every NZ rental property insulated within four years.

Housing Minister Nick Smith announced plans to strengthen residential tenancy laws, including requirements for landlords to provide smoke alarms and insulation, and to declare the standard of insulation on tenancy agreements.

Our team is very excited about the new announcement as we see plenty of tenants living in poor, cold, damp conditions and are reliant on the landlord to go ahead with insulation.  This will make a huge difference to many families here in the Deep South struggling to warm their homes and keep their families warm and healthy.

In the near future, our team will able to install quality smoke alarms our local Fire Service recommend once we have been given full training on how to install them correctly.

We understand parts of the government have been trying to implement a type of Warrant of Fitness scheme for rental properties but due to the complexity, this hasn’t been implemented.  However, the latest news announced is a great start and will help many families here in the Deep South.

We are also pleased to be working closely with our local Invercargill Fire Service team.  We will be offering a service of supplying fire alarms and installing them with our insulation work.  The local fire service has kindly offered training for our installers and we will be using the same brand smoke alarm they use.

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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