Subsidies for insulation and heating

Community Energy Action (CEA) is one of the registered providers of the government's ENERGYWISETM funding programme for insulation and heating. Subsidies available through CEA are outlined in the table below.

Funding support from EECA's ENERGYWISE_TM (Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart) programme.

Conditions apply.

Why install insulation with Community Energy Action?

Community Energy Action has been installing insulation in Canterbury for more than 15 years and uses quality products and trained installers. We audit installations to make sure your insulation is effective and safe. Community Energy Action is a charitable trust and our surpluses are invested back into our community projects keeping those who can least afford it keep warm as well.

Community Energy Action installs insulation and heating in Canterbury north of the Rakaia only.

Community Energy Action has moved!

Community Energy Action has moved to new premises. You can now find us on 76 Moorhouse Ave or talk to us on (03)374 7222. Find out more about our new contact details.

Cost-effective window insulation

There are no subsidies for double glazing but Community Energy Action does sell DIY window insulation which, when installed correctly, has similar insulation properties as double glazing at a fraction of the cost. Find out more.

Subsidies for insulation and heating available through Community Energy Action (from July 2009)

* CEA has currently additional subsidies available, over and above the government subsidy of 60%, for homeowners with a Community Services Card. This means CEA is able to provide a 65% (average) subsidy on insulation for this group at the moment. However when the extra funding has all been allocated, unless we receive additional funding, CEA may then offer the standard 60% subsidy on insulation. As the subsidy level differs between the different insulation measures the 65% is an average and can be either higher or lower in individual cases. Please ask for a free quote to calculate actual subsidy.

General eligibility criteria

• Subsidies are available only to homes built before 2000.There is no income cap for the subsidies, however some subsidies and grants are only available for Community Services Card holders.
• Subsidies are available for more than one property, landlords can take part in the scheme with multiple properties.
• Properties that have previously been granted subsidies and/or grants through the ENERGYWISE programme are also eligible for the subsidies outlined here.

Homeowner contribution for insulation and heating

How much the homeowner contribution will be for your property, depends on the size of your house, the insulation already present and your choice of heating (if you choose to have heating installed as well). You can get an idea of the cost by calculating the space that needs to be heated and the size of your house.

If you live in Christchurch and currently have an open fire or logburner, you may also want to check the subsidies available through the Clean Heat Project.

Arranging an assessment

Winter is a very busy time for us, so contact Community Energy Action today for a free and no-obligation appointment with one of our assessors. The assessor will come out to your house or rental property, discuss your insulation and heating needs and prepare a quote for you.

Although we prefer the landlord to contact us directly, we are also happy to take enquiries from tenants and we can contact your landlord on your behalf. However, City Council and Housing New Zealand (HNZ) properties are not eligible for the subsidies. Please contact the council or HNZ directly if you have any concerns about insulation and heating in their properties.

If you are installing insulation and heating with Community Energy Action, you know you will get good and reliable information, you get a quality job done and you will feel good, knowing any surpluses will go to our community projects that will help those in extreme hardship to keep warm as well.

Find out more about our community projects.

Insulation

Under the government subsidy scheme, it is compulsory to have both ceiling and under floor insulation installed to the Building Code Standard and to use an EECA-approved insulation product. Making it compulsory to have good insulation before installing heating, makes sense as heating bills in an uninsulated home can be high. As the Building Code changed in 2008, it is very likely that insulation installed before that time is not up to the Building Code Standard.

The insulation subsidies also apply to hot water cylinder wraps, hot water pipe lagging and draught proofing of doors.

Find out more about the benefits of insulation.

Find out more about the benefits of the insulation products Community Energy Action uses.

Heating

Community Energy Action offers you a choice of heat pumps from reputable brands that we are confident will work well in the New Zealand South Island climate. Under the government subsidy scheme only EECA approved heat pumps are allowed to be installed. All heat pumps are installed by our partner Nova Systems.

We can also arrange the installation of a pellet fire or a clean air approved logburner where legally allowed or a flued gas heater.

Find out whether you are allowed to install a pellet fire or logburner.

Heating is optional and you can choose not to have heating installed. If you change your mind, you can access the grant for heating at a later stage (provided conditions of the scheme do not change).  We can prepare a quote for insulation and heating at the same time but heating can only be installed after the insulation has been put in.

Financing the homeowner contribution

Community Energy Action will take care of the paperwork of the subsidies and apart from accepting the quote, there are no other forms to fill in. The subsidies are already deducted from the total amount and you will only get one invoice. An invoice will be sent to you after installation and you will have 21 days to pay.

Many banks have agreed to be flexible with top-ups for mortgages and waive service fees when these top-ups are used for the installation of insulation and heating under the government's scheme. Please contact your bank for more details.

If you have a baby or are over 65, have a community services card and are unable to pay the owner's contribution for insulation and heating or get a mortgage top-up, we still encourage you to contact CEA.

For people in extreme hardship we may be able to arrange extra funding over and above the subsidies described here. Don't sit around in a cold home because you cannot afford to keep warm, take action today!