With the government’s announcement of insulation requirements for (some) rental homes, there have been some very good responses.

This article in the Listener is a comprehensive look at the problem and possible solutions.

Also in the Otago Daily Times, another good article (after all it’s a big problem for older southern houses) with this contribution from Cosy Homes chair and Home Performance Advisor Scott Willis:

“But without also having wall insulation, double-glazed windows and curtains, households in the South are not being lifted out of fuel poverty, he says.

”Ceiling and underfloor is not even the minimum we need,” Mr Willis says.

”We estimate that 45% of Dunedin homes are in fuel poverty or would be if they heated their homes appropriately. That’s about 18,000 homes. Underfloor and ceiling insulation does not touch that figure, because without wall insulation and double glazing the cost of heating is still high. We can say we’ve reduced the severity of the fuel poverty, but we haven’t got them out of fuel poverty.”