29/05/2006
- The Ministry for the Environment’s Warm Homes
project is funding $250,000 towards a study which
examines the effects of the indoor environment
on asthmatic children and their families.
The study is being carried out
by the He Kainga Oranga/Housing and Health Research
Programme at the Wellington School of Medicine
and Health Sciences, University of Otago.
Minister for the Environment
David Benson-Pope said the research will examine
the impact on family health after changing to
more sustainable forms of heating such as heat
pumps, wood pellet burners and flued gas.
The study has recruited around
400 households who have a child with asthma, of
7-12 years of age, in Dunedin, Porirua, Lower
Hutt, Christchurch and Bluff.
Every household that participates
in the full study will get a new heater and will
be insulated, if they are not already. The heaters
are new-generation healthier, energy efficient
heaters that may make it cheaper to heat more
of the house.
“We support initiatives that
help New Zealanders make better choices when it
comes to home heating because a warm, healthy
home not only improves people’s health, it also
reduces air pollution,” said Mr Benson-Pope.
“The researchers will compare
the health and energy consumption of families
with the new heaters to those still living with
the old ones. These new heaters match the ones
that are recommended through the Warm Homes project.
“This research investment will
help shape our analysis in respect of household
heating behaviour. It complements research already
being done in Tokoroa and Timaru,” he said.
The first phase of the study
was carried out last winter and starts again over
this winter period.
The core grant for the study
comes from the Health Research Council, and other
investors include Contact Energy and the Hutt
Valley District Health Board. The total budget
for the project is $3 million over three years.
Background information:
Warm Homes project
New Zealand has clean air most
of the time in most places. There are some problems
in some areas, however. Air pollution causes a
range of significant health problems, including
respiratory diseases, asthma attacks, reduced
immunity and even premature deaths. Many of these
problems are preventable.
The majority of air pollution
comes from domestic heating. Domestic solid fuel
burners and open fires are the main source of
fine particles in most urban areas. That is why
it is important for New Zealand families to install
cleaner heating and make their homes more healthy
and energy efficient in an affordable way. Insulation
and more efficient forms of heating play an important
part in this.
To help New Zealanders reduce
the effects of home heating while staying warm,
the Ministry for the Environment is working with
a range of central and local government agencies
and industry on the Warm Homes project. The Warm
Homes project aims to ensure that New Zealanders
heat their homes sufficiently, cleanly and efficiently.
The ‘Housing, Heating and Health’
research of the Wellington School of Medicine
and Health Sciences is consistent with work previously
funded under the Warm Homes project - in particular,
the small scale retrofit trials in Tokoroa (19
properties) and Timaru (29 properties). It is
an ideal extension to the project.
The government has provided
more than $2 million to fund a range of initiatives
that assist local government meet new air quality
targets:
$800,000 for new air quality monitoring for 15
councils in the country
$500,000 to assist Environment Canterbury’s Clean
Heat scheme in the retrofit of 200 properties
$250,000 to assist Nelson City Council’s Clean
Heat/Warm Homes scheme in the retrofit of 70 properties
$100,000 to survey home heating in New Zealand
$70,000 for understanding the social drivers behind
home heating choice
$50,000 for evaluating different heating types
$100,000 for two Warm Homes trials in Tokoroa
and Timaru; and
$160,000 for a new study examining the performance
review of the wood burner standard.
More information on the Warm
Homes project can be found at www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/energy/warm-homes.
