More than 170 homeowners across Auckland have recently participated in the HomeSmart Renovation project, led by Beacon Pathway, with residents given renovation plans to align homes with Beacon Pathway’s benchmarks for a high-performing home under the High Standard of Sustainability (HSS).
New Zealand has one of the highest levels of asthma and bronchial disease in the world. Asthma affects one-in-six New Zealanders, with children the hardest hit. Our cold, damp homes do little to improve this appalling statistic.
Research team leader Lois Easton says the colonial mind set has been to “harden up”, or pull on another jumper, rather than build healthier homes.
“The sustainability of the residential built environment is an important issue for New Zealand,” she explains. “The health of the indoor environment within homes has a significant impact on the overall health of the community.”
Established in 2004, the Beacon Pathway project aims to bring sustainability to New Zealand homes. The spotlight is not on the 25,000 new homes being built each year, but on our existing 1.6 million houses — a large proportion of which are poorly insulated, damp and are high consumers of energy and water.
“Beacon’s key goal is for the majority of homes to achieve a high standard of sustainability by 2012,” Ms Easton says. “In defining this goal, Beacon has developed benchmarks for energy and water consumption and checklists for waste, indoor environment quality and materials used in house construction which defines the high standard of sustainability.”
Findings from the research project revealed people wanted to improve the warmth of their house, make the house healthier overall and for properties to be more environmentally sustainable to save on power bills. Nearly 50 per cent of participants changed their intentions as a result of the renovation plan.
