Kiwibank is offering free energy audits for customers taking out mortgages for new and existing homes in Christchurch.
Canterbury Growth General Manager Tracey Berry said the bank was working with Community Energy Action to offer the service as a contribution to the rebuild in Canterbury following the earthquakes.
“Kiwibank will pay for a qualified energy efficiency expert to assess the home that a customer is purchasing or refinancing to Kiwibank. The assessor will visit the home and look at items such as the insulation, water and space heating, lighting, glazing and ventilation. They will then make recommendations to improve the performance of the home and will also advise if any subsidies are available.
“These recommendations may include features such as better insulation, improved space and water heating and more efficient lighting ,” Ms Berry said.
She said the recommendations would be placed in a priority order so home purchasers can decide what will give them the greatest benefit.
“The cost of energy efficiency recommendations will be assessed and home buyers may be able to add the estimated costs to their loan application or put them into a bucket list to achieve over time,” Ms Berry said.
For new homes, the energy audit can be carried out based on plans before construction, saving expensive changes after construction and ensuring the best value for a warm and comfortable home.
Ms Berry said assessors of existing homes as well as prospective new homes can also make recommendations on the use of renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic electricity generation, solar water heating and ground source heat pumps and customers could access our Sustainability Loan for funding toward this.
For further information: Tracey Berry, General Manager Canterbury Growth 027 702 6561.
This offer is no longer available.