Energy Advice Service

Introduction  The Energy Advice Service assists householders to make informed decisions about how to make their home warmer, drier and affordable to run.  Advice and information provided is practical, provided by local advisers and suitable for all incomes, homeowners and tenants.

Free Telephone Advice

Our advisers can help callers to:

• identify causes of high energy costs and ways to reduce them.
• prioritise a cost-effective action plan to make a cold house warmer and more comfortable.
• make good choices about heating appliances appropriate for their needs.
• minimise dampness and condensation in their homes.
• access financial assistance for heating and insulation.

Energy Advisers can also help you to identify

1. your cheapest electricity company.
2. make sure you are on an electricity plan that is most suitable for your needs.  

 Find out more about the topics the Advice Service can help you with.

Advisers recognise that many callers cannot afford to spend a lot of money on heating and/or insulation, or rent their homes. We are experienced at tailoring advice to these situations. There is no cost to this service, and there is no limit to the length of call, or number of calls per caller.

Find out about how and when you can call the Energy Advice Service free phone service. You can also email the Energy Advice Service.

Toll-free Energy Advice Services are  operating in the greater Wellington and Auckland areas. Callers outside these areas callers can access the service via a toll call.

Home Energy Check

Houses are complex systems and sometimes just upgrading your insulation and heating will not be enough to maximise the comfort of your home or reduce wasteful energy consumption. A Home Energy Check (HEC) offers the peace of mind all options have been identified to make your home warmer, drier and more energy efficient. Our service is impartial and we do not sell products.

A HEC is a comprehensive assessment of the energy efficiency of your wholehouse. It is tailored specifically to your own home and your specific concerns. During the check our assessor will discuss any areas of concern and make recommendations to improve the performance of the home.

Following the check you will receive a report outlining the current energy performance of the home and recommending a range of prioritised actions which you can take that will improve the energy efficiency and/or comfort of your home. We can also advise if government funding is available for some of these recommendations.

Once you receive your report you will have the opportunity to discuss the recommendations of the report with the assessor who checked your home.

This service is currently heavily subsidised by our sponsors. The cost of delivering a Home Energy Check is approximately $250. As of October 2011 fees for HECS are

Fees are subject to change without notice, and the number of subsidised HECS are limited.

For more information about HECS, or to book an assessment; call the Energy Advice Service free phone service, or send an email

Hot Water Check

If you have high electricity costs in the warmer months of the year, hot water heating may be the cause! Once you stop using electricity to heat the rooms in your house, hot water heating can account for nearly 50% of your electricity costs, especially in the summer. Community Energy Action offers an affordable, independent check of your whole hot water system. This includes hot water use behaviour and your current electricity plan. Our recommendations are targeted to reduce hot water heating costs.

This service is currently heavily subsidised by our sponsors and is available in the warmer months of the year only. The cost of delivering a Hot Water Check is approximately $60. As of October 2011 fees for Hot Water Checks are

Fees are subject to change without notice, and the number of subsidised Hot Water Checks are limited. To book a hot water check; call the Energy Advice Service free phone service, or email us.

Home Heating Check

Upgrading your home heating system can be an expensive process, and it is vital to make a well-informed choice to make sure that the system you choose meets your needs effectively and is affordable to run.

Today home owners have multiple choices around heating options, fuels and appliances. Different kinds of home heating systems heat in different ways.  And different heaters are also better suited to some situations than others. People's heating preferences need to be considered, and environmental consequences also must be factored in as many Canterbury residents living in Clean Air Zones now have clean air rules to abide by.

Community Energy Action's Home Heating Check is an independent and comprehensive assessment of the current heaters in your home and your future heating requirements. It assesses:

• Specific heat calculations for different areas or rooms
• Existing heating systems - are they adequate and appropriate?
• Current electricity company and plan - are you buying electricity from the cheapest retailer?
• Old log burner/open fireplaces - options for replacing or upgrading
• Heat pumps - what type, what size and where should it be installed
• The best heater(s) for other spaces in the house, including hallways, bathrooms and a child's bedroom
• Current insulation levels

We discuss and advise on all heating options for your home. This includes wood burners, heat pumps, diesel heaters, pellet fires and flued gas heaters. This advice includes an overview of the installation costs, fuel running costs and efficiency of all these different types of heaters.

During the check our assessor will discuss any areas of concern and make recommendations to improve the performance of your Heating Systems. Following the check our assessor will leave a report that will outline the current heating system and a list of recommendations that will improve it. The check may take up to one and a half hours.

This service is currently heavily subsidised by our sponsors. The cost of delivering a Home Heating Check is approximately $90. As of November 2011 fees for a Home Heating Check are

Fees are subject to change without notice, and the number of subsidised heating checks is limited.

To book a home heating check; call the Energy Advice Service free phone, or email us.

Homestar^TMHomecoach assessment

 Homestar^TM is  a residential rating tool for New Zealand's homes. Overseas research shows homes with performance ratings sell and rent faster, for higher prices than non-rated homes. The UK, Europe and North America have developed similar rating tools, such as LEED for Homes in the USA and Canada and the Code for Sustainable Homes in the UK.

Homestar was developed by a Joint Venture partnership between BRANZ and the New Zealand Green Building Council with input from industry professionals across the entire building and construction sector including government. Homestar^TMhelps you improve the energy efficiency performance of your home. This assessment also looks at how you can use less water, reduce waste and even what you plant in your garden.

Our Energy Advisers have been trained by Homestar^TMto assist you through the Homestar^TMonline assessment tool. They offer a personalised service, at your home, assisting you with completion of the online tool order to provide your Homecoach^TMAssessment. They can also talk you through the recommendations and assist you in choosing the right solutions for your home and help homeowners understand how they can make improvements to their home with the goal of moving up to a higher ‘Star Band'.

The fee for an in-house Homecoach^TM Assessment is $100. This fee will be waived under the following conditions:

1. the assessment identifies that your house requires more than 80 square meters of underfloor and/or ceiling insulation.
2. you accept a quote from Community Energy Action to install the ceiling and/or underfloor insulation for the property that has undergone the Homestar^TMHomecoach assessment.

For more information or to book a Homestar^TM Homecoach assessment; call the Energy Advice Service free-phone service, or send an email .

What's the difference between a Home Energy Check and a Homestar^TM Homecoach assessment?

Draught Testing

Community Energy Action provides an innovative, unique service that measures the air-tightness of a home. If the number of times the air changes per hour in your house is very high due to uncontrolled draughts your home will be less energy efficient. Draughts can be very uncomfortable to live with, especially in the winter. They also reduce the effectiveness of the insulation in your house and may allow potentially damaging moisture to penetrate walls.

Community Energy Action (CEA) can test for draughts in your home using a ‘blower door'. Sources of draughts include floors, wardrobes, pipe inlets, light switches, internal door frames, electricity cables, plus door and window surrounds. These are not always easily identifiable under normal air pressure conditions but can be located through the pressure difference created by the blower door.

Reduce your heating costs by identifying the source and volume of draughts, plus proper draught stopping and air sealing techniques. This will also make your home more comfortable.

The testing process takes approximately 2 hours. We will need access to all of the rooms of your house, plus a power connection. We prefer you to be present whilst we undertake the testing.

Once testing is complete you will receive a report within five working days which:

• Documents the location of the major sources of draughts in your house
• Recommends a priority list for draught stopping.

Cost: $180 including GST. This service is not subsidised.

 To book a session, call the the Energy Advice Service free phone service, or email us.

Outreach

The Energy Advice Service also provides an Outreach service for government agencies, community groups and their clients and customers.

Outreach sessions are available in three different formats and can be targeted to the audience. These include power point presentations, an informal advice clinic, and a home energy efficiency game show quiz.

The Outreach's objective is to provide easily accessible information and answer questions about home energy efficiency, primarily for those on low incomes. In winter demand for this service can get very high and we may have to prioritise sessions for low-incomes groups. It is advised to book well in advance.

Outreach sessions are supported by an extensive range of information sheets. To book a session, call the the Energy Advice Service free phone service, or email us.

Advice Topics 

We provide information and advice on a wide range of topics, which are listed below. We can help you make sense of what may feel like overwhelming, contradictory and confusing information through our energy advice services. Make a start and give us a call - nothing beats personalised advice tailored to your own unique needs and priorities.

A lot of very good information based on sound research and building science already exists on other websites. These  are hosted by the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority, Consumer, Smarter Homes, the Building Research Association of New Zealand, and the National Energy Research Institute at the University of Otago. Rather than replicate this information we seek to add value to it by

• referring visitors directly to relevant topic-based webpages, rather than a general home page. 
• filling information gaps, particularly with respect to low cost or free tips and energy use behaviours. You don't always have to spend a lot of money to make a big difference to the warmth and comfort of your home.
• sometimes it is hard to know what to do first. We provide a sensible cost-benefit framework to guide homeowners through the journey of making their homes warmer, healthier and more affordable to run.
• where possible and relevant, provide information that is specific to Christchurch and the Canterbury region, plus meet local needs.

This part of CEA's website is still under construction. New information will be posted or updated regularly.

Tips for a whole house

 How to find a warm, energy efficient home (buying or renting)

Top priorities for making a home warm, healthy and affordable to run 

 The four seasons of energy efficiency - maintaining an energy efficient home all year

Low cost and free tips for managing energy costs

Building a new home

Repairing an earthquake damaged-home

Heating

How to choose a good heater

Advantages and disadvantages of different kinds of heating 

Costs for different kinds of heating systems in the Canterbury Region (installation and running) 

Plug in electric heaters - running costs and how to buy a quality plug in heater 

Unflued LPG gas heaters

How to use a night store heater

How to manage home energy costs 

Information for tenants living in rental properties - how to keep warm and manage energy costs

High electricity costs

Appliance running costs

 

Keeping your house dry 

What to do about dampness and condensation

Ventilation and ventilation systems

 

How to keep the heat in

Insulation

What to do about draughts

How to reduce heat loss through downlight fittings

 

Windows

Double glazing

What to do if you can't afford double glazing

How to make sure your curtains are effective

 

Hot water heating 

Do I need to replace my hot water cylinder?

How can I keep my hot water heating costs down? 

 

            

Customer Feedback

"You have given us a clear idea of our heating options and the advantages/disadvantages of each. Our original plan of only installing a night store appears to be inadequate and may be disappointing at best. It is good to have someone point this out to us and at least we know before investing money into something that may be insufficient". H.W. - Lincoln, Canterbury. March 2010

"You provide an excellent service - I shall recommend it to others."  L.D. Christchurch. August 2010

"We are very pleased with your information as it has helped sort out our method of heating for the house and water and now feel confident that we are making good choices about the systems we intend using." J.G. Christchurch. September 2010

"The information you have provided has been great and gives me a new steer and some hope that we can find a suitable system.  I definitely will be in touch with future questions, you've been brilliant! C.W. February 2011

In 2010 the Advice Service won the 2010 EECA Community Award

This award recognises a project or initiative that raises the profile of energy efficiency and renewable energy use within a community or encourages the community to get better energy performance from their homes.

Energy Advice Service Evaluation 2009

A total of 182 callers participated in a survey conducted in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.

• 84% rated the service as good or very good, and 82% rated the advice as good or very good.

• 94.2% of the respondents made one of at least eleven different actions after receiving advice from the HEAC.

• 29% agreed that their energy bills had decreased.

• 59% agreed that there had been a notable improvement in comfort within their house.

• 20% agreed that there had been a notable improvement in the health of someone in their household.

Opus International Consultants Ltd (2009) Home Energy Advice Centre Evaluation Survey. Gracefield, Lower Hutt