Energy Wellness & Education - EA Networks’ Community Outreach and Education Programs

The wellbeing of our community is important to us

Each year, we fund our energy wellbeing programme, which provides energy efficiency products to individuals and families, co-funds insulation and heat pump installations through Warmer Kiwi Homes and supports community events that teach ways to reduce electricity costs.

Warmer Kiwi Homes

The Warmer Kiwi Homes initiative is led by EECA and provides funding for homeowners to purchase and install insulation and heat pumps. To be eligible, you need to:

Own and live in a home built before 2008
As the owner, have either a Community Services Card or a SuperGold Combo Card or live in an area identified as low-income.

EECA provides funding for up to 90% of the costs, and EA Networks works with our installation providers, Community Energy Action and Modserve Limited, to top up the EECA funding. There may still be costs for the homeowner to pay. However, with the combined funding, the installations are heavily discounted.

To find out more about Warmer Kiwi Homes, check out EECA’s site below.

If you think you’re eligible, contact:

Insulation: Community Energy Action

0800 438 9276

Heating Grants | Insulation Grants | Community Energy Action

Heat pumps: Modserve Limited

0800 669 583

Warmer Kiwi Homes – For A Healthier Home | Modserve NZ

Warmer Kiwi Homes site

In-home energy education

At a local level, we understand the importance of knowing how to reduce electricity costs, as well as keep yourself and your family warm.

We partner with local community agencies to help bring low-cost energy-saving products such as LED lightbulbs, draught stops, and V-seals to your home. We also work in partnership with Connecting Mid Canterbury, who help with local community events, group education, and in-home visits for one-on-one education in the home.

If you’d like to find out more about our in-home energy education, you can contact Connecting Mid Canterbury via email at kate@connectingmc.org or phone at 308 1237 ext. 817.

Community events

You’ll find us and/orour partner agencies at local events throughout the year. This includes the Methven and Mayfield A&P Shows, as well as the Ashburton A&P Show. We love connecting in with the local community and sharing our message on quick and easy ways to save electricity.

We also have available the Consumer NZ’s information on electricity savings, some great tips for quick changes you can make in the home, and our standard low-cost energy-saving products. We’re always keen to give away some LED bulbs; they are a real winner!

Our tips for energy-savings

Curtains

Opening your curtains in the morning maximises the free heat from the sun. Closing your curtains at dusk will help to trap the warmth in your home.

Adding an extra layer of material to your curtains can also help keep your home warm. You can source curtain lining from a variety of places or pick up some second-hand curtains to add onto your existing curtains as a great low-cost approach.

Draughts

Draught stoppers help prevent heat escaping by covering up the gaps underneath doors and windows. For a low-cost option, it can be as simple as rolling up a towel, or for the sewing enthusiast, you can make your own!

Adding products like V-seal to your front or back doors or window frames is another good low-cost solution that helps to keep the warm air in and the cold air out.

LED lighting

LED lights use up to 85% less electricity than traditional bulbs.

Replacing your bulbs with LED lights could save you up to $100 per year (or more!).

Hot water

In winter, there’s nothing nicer than a long hot shower. Except that extended shower could be adding a whole lot of extra cost to your bill. Hot water usage makes up around 30% of your power bill.

You can keep the costs of hot water down by:

Making sure your hot water cylinder is well insulated. If your house was built prior to 2002, it might pay to check what insulation you have around your hot water cylinder. You can buy cylinder wraps from local hardware stores.

Checking you’re on the right electricity plan – you can save money depending on when you heat your hot water and what plan you’re on. Talk to your electricity retailer.

Reduce the amount of time in the shower; it uses less hot water, which means less electricity is needed to heat it up again.

Did you know? A dripping hot water tap could be costing you more than you know. If it’s dripping at one drip per second, it could be adding about $10 per month to your bills!

Washing machines and dryers

Washing clothes in hot water can cost up to 10 times more electricity than a cold wash. According to EECA, changing four loads of laundry from a hot to a cold wash will save you about $60 - $80 a year!

While clothes dryers may be convenient, each load costs about $1. Drying clothes in a carport, under a verandah or even in the garage might take a bit longer, but it will also save you money in the long run.

Appliances

Whether you’re running a washing machine, looking at buying a new fridge/freezer or thinking about putting on your clothes dryer – the appliances we use contribute a lot to the amount we pay in our monthly power bill.

If you’re buying a new appliance, the Energy Rating Label makes it easy to compare energy efficiency and running costs. More stars on the label mean it’s more energy efficient.

You can find out more about energy ratings here.

How much does it cost to run that appliance?

Appliances in our homes all cost different amounts to run. If you'd like to check out how much your appliances might be costing you, visit this website.