Heating grants could be lost
Changes to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) Warmer Kiwi Homes grants may mean some Oamaru and Palmerston households will lose access to free insulation and heating.
The Warmer Kiwi Homes programme provides grants to help eligible homeowners in New Zealand improve the insulation and heating of their homes, particularly in older, less insulated properties.
The grants offer 100% free insulation and up to 90% off an efficient heater, including heat pumps or an efficient wood burner, to eligible households.
From June 30, EECA will switch to using 2023 census data to define low-income areas.
EECA general manager delivery and partnerships Richard Briggs said the main criteria for the grants had not changed but the update from the 2023 census might affect eligibility.
"Some people who weren't eligible before might now be able to get support, and a few who were previously eligible may no longer qualify," he said.
Mr Briggs said any total number of eligible homes is indicative only and eligibility will depend on a few things, not just census data.
Homeowners living in houses built before 2008 may qualify for grants of up to 90% off ceiling and underfloor insulation and up to 80% off a heat pump.
"The best way to check is by using the Warmer Kiwi Homes tool. It's quick and easy, and gives you an answer based on your exact address," Mr Briggs said.
• To check your eligibility go to:
https://www.eeca.govt.nz/co-funding-and-support/products/warmer-kiwi-hom...
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
31-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Making the cut for colourful growth
Garden staff member Tom Myers looks at Cotinus Coggygria 'Royal Purple' at the Dunedin Botanic Garden. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH In the thematic area that runs along the boundary of Great King St we have changed the bark pathway to a hard surface as it can get quite boggy, especially in the winter months which made it difficult for wheelchairs/mobility scooters. At the same time, we narrowed the path in some areas to create more garden border which is noticeable with the extension to the autumn theme area which opens an opportunity to bring in new plants, so watch this space. You will notice there has been a lot of pruning in the past month. In the colour/variegated foliage theme, several shrubs have been pruned very hard, such as the Berberis thunbergii 'Aurea', B. thunbergii 'Rose Glow' and Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple' has been pollarded back to the main framework. This technique will also be used on some of the shrubs in the autumn theme, especially the Cornus species that are grown for their coloured stems. The main principal behind this is to encourage a lot of new growth in spring that intensifies the colour of the shrubs by creating a large amount of foliage in a smaller area. The same has happened to Philadelphus coronarius 'Aureus' and Weigela 'Florida Variegata' where we sacrificed the flowering to gain the leaf colour intensity of the shrubs. The next area for an uplift will be the area of the fragrant/scented theme on either side of the pedestrian walkway off Great King St where several plants have seen better days. As collection curators we are always mindful plant borders/collections are the botanic garden's shop windows, so they do need changing or rearranging to keep luring people back. Next time you're visiting, head to the themes collection to see what changes you can spot. David Askin is the themes collection curator at Dunedin Botanic Garden.
Otago Daily Times
27-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Innovative student takes to sustainable jewellery
Bayfield High School Young Enterprise Scheme student Abigail Gilfedder displays some of the earrings she has made out of wooden transport pallets. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH Who would want to buy a set of earrings made out of an old wooden transport pallet? Initially, Abigail Gilfedder was not confident anyone would. But in the end, she decided to roll the dice and give it a go as part of her school's Young Enterprise Scheme. The Bayfield High School 18-year-old said she wanted to find a way to make classy, but sustainable and affordable earrings. "I have a huge collection — like over 100 pairs of earrings — but a lot of them are from businesses that have very bad business practices that I didn't realise at first. "I felt buyer's guilt because of that." So, when she saw an old wooden pallet about to be thrown out at school, the penny dropped for her. "I managed to rescue and recycle it. "It was just an old wooden pallet that was going to be chucked out, and I saw it as a way to upcycle. "There's plenty of them around, so materials are always in plentiful supply, which makes it so much more affordable." Abigail said she made the earrings herself, using a laser cutter. Using the laser meant she was able to create customised earrings at very low cost. "It kind of sounds like a laser cutter wouldn't be very good for the environment, but it's actually a lot better than people would think. "It has no byproducts, there's no wastage, and it keeps everything precise. "And any material I have left over can go straight back into the environment because it's natural." She said it took less than a minute to create one set of earrings, and she could make thousands of them out of just one wood pallet. The best part about it was that it did not feel like work for her. "It's fun. I love making jewellery. "And it's super easy as well. All it is, is attaching a hook and a jump ring. Simple as." She was one of about a dozen Otago secondary school students at the Young Enterprise Scheme Market Day in Dunedin's Wall Street Mall at the weekend, trying to sell their innovative products to the public. The young entrepreneurs had a wide range of products, ranging from DIY phone cases and handcrafted leather balm to original paintings, tea towels, and unique seasonings.
Otago Daily Times
25-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
‘Plants of utility' still making presence felt
Cupressus macrocarpa 'Coneybearii' at the Dunedin Botanic Garden. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH In the late 1860s - when still under the management of the Otago provincial government, it was decided to move the Dunedin Botanic Garden because of severe flooding of its old site. The garden was moved northwards on to the grounds of the Otago Acclimatisation Society, which had been used to trial the introduction of new species. The new site already had some plantings present, and some plants were able to be moved from the old site, including one of two oak trees planted by superintendent John Hyde Harris commemorating a royal marriage. Although some plants could be moved it was felt that more roses and ornamental plants were needed to shape the garden. Contact was made with the government of Victoria in Australia and a response was made by government botanist and first director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Baron Ferdinand von Mueller. He sent ''plants of utility'', including walnuts and cypresses, to Dunedin, and commented that flowering plants were the business of nurseries. This time coincided with broader changes in Dunedin. The garden's relocation freed its original Leith-side site to be occupied by the expanding University of Otago, which moved from the Exchange in the 1870s. The acclimatisation society continued operations from Ōpoho, including a fish hatchery. The end of provincial government soon followed, with the shift to a centralised national government. These overlapping changes signalled a rapidly developing city - where education, public space and scientific institutions were beginning to take lasting form. Today, the royal oak is the best-known survivor of this time, but there are walnuts close to the old Great King St main entrance and the unusual yellow-topped Cupressus macrocarpa 'Coneybearii' at the Opoho entrance - could these be trees from von Mueller in Victoria? - Tom Myers is the botanical services officer at the Dunedin Botanic Garden.
