Libraries launch Healthy Home Toolbox

Published on 28 March 2022

Over the past six months, Waitaki District Libraries staff have been working with Network Waitaki to bring a very exciting initiative to life. The Healthy Home Toolbox contains some very clever gadgets and instructions on their use so that you can measure the health of your home, discover any changes you need to make to save money and create a well performing home that is dry, easy to heat and energy efficient.

The toolboxes are available at all libraries for residents to borrow. The purpose of this kit is to enable Waitaki residents to complete their own healthy home assessment and review how they are using water, keeping their homes dry and warm, and saving energy / money on appliance use.

North Otago has a colder climate and comparatively older housing stock than other regions of New Zealand. Many homes are also poorly insulated or lack insulation altogether, leading to cold, damp conditions that impact health and wellbeing, and result in higher energy costs.

The average New Zealand household spends around $2,500 a year on energy and heating. By making some changes, our community can reduce costs and may save hundreds of dollars a year.

The Healthy Home Toolbox is designed to measure and improve the energy efficiency and performance of our customer’s homes by:

• Keeping their home warm and dry.
• Saving on hot water through more efficient use of water flow and heating.
• Saving on appliances and lighting including usage and making smarter choices on purchasing more efficient products.

The kit contains:

• An infrared thermometer for finding hot spots or cold spots and identifying areas of poor insulation or air leaks, including tips on how to fix them.
• A thermometer/hygrometer for measuring air temperature and moisture levels including tips on how to fix them.
• A stopwatch for checking the shower flow rate including tips on how to make savings through efficient use of hot water.
• A power meter for checking the energy use and the running costs or plug-in appliances e.g. fridges, freezers including tips on appliances, heating and lighting.
• A moisture meter for measuring the level of moisture in firewood to ensure it is dry enough for optimum burning.
• A thermometer for measuring water temperature and check money isn’t being wasted by overheating the hot water cylinder (also a safety issue).
• Instructions on how to use each device, what the measurements mean, suggested actions and cost saving tips. (Please refer to Appendix for example).
• A record book to record measurements and energy saving actions – this can be kept for future reference.
• A list of web sites and resources for further information and follow up actions.

This excellent idea is in alignment with the ‘Waste Free Waitaki’ project, community development initiatives and Waitaki’s Housing Strategy.

Library Manager Jenny Bean said, “Along with library staff and our CE Alex Parmley, who have been testing the kits, the Network Waitaki team have completed a huge amount of work to get this off the ground and we are very appreciative of their support.”

Waitaki CE Alex Parmley said, “Every household in Waitaki is facing increasing pressure as a result of rising costs. I am really pleased that our libraries service, working with and supported by Network Waitaki are able to offer this new service. Having trialled one of the new kits, they can really help you see where you can save money on energy costs, helping you have a healthy home and lower your impact on the environment too. I hope all our residents consider using the kits and take up the opportunity to lower their energy use and costs.”

Network Waitaki Chief Executive Geoff Douch said, “Helping people to use electricity efficiently is really important to us as it makes up a large part of household expenditure.  This initiative will give people the tools to check their homes and make sure they aren’t using unnecessary power to keep their homes warm and dry.  As we are 100% locally owned by the Waitaki Power Trust – we have a lot of support for initiatives such as this which benefit our customers and community, like we did with the Ecobulb LED light giveaway back in 2020.”

Click this link to reserve a Healthy Homes Toolbox