With the economy on the decline, and climate change increasing, it’s no surprise that energy efficiency and sustainability in the home is becoming front of mind for many Kiwis.

In fact, a recent survey by insurance provider IAG New Zealand revealed that many now consider flooding and natural disasters to be the second most-important factor when buying or renting a home. Price still remains the number one deciding factor, but now, 90 percent of people want more information on a property’s natural hazard risks before signing the dotted line - up from 55 percent two years ago.

Throw the cost of living into the mix, and the motivation to reduce your carbon footprint, and make your home more energy efficient is bigger than ever before.

Bayleys National Director of Property Management Services Stuart Bent says climate has definitely become a priority for some.

“Generally, people in society are becoming a lot more familiar with climate change, and that is allowing them to grow some degree of consciousness in their own personal life.”

“Unlike work, where they don't have much control of their working environment, their homes are something they have much more of an influence over.”

Bent says many buyers are echoing the findings of IAG’s survey, and are relying on agents to provide them with information about natural hazards and the climate impact of a property.

“Buyers are asking the questions around how a property fared in the floods. So they're a lot more conscious of natural hazards and things like buying on cliff tops.”

“We're seeing that become a lot more exaggerated than it used to be.”

When it comes to the main motivators for in-home efficiency, Bent says it comes down to two things - long term savings, and saving the environment.

“You get people who are embedding sustainability principles into the design of their homes because of environmental stewardship. But due to some of the costs of going green, that's generally a much smaller group than your mainstream housing developers.”

Better building codes are a big part of that too.

“They aren’t just motivating but regulating developers to create homes that are generally more energy efficient, better ventilated and generally healthier for people to raise families and live in.”

But if you can’t afford to buy a new build, there are things both big and small that you can do to your existing home, to make it more efficient for both your wallet and the environment.

SHORT TERM SOLUTIONS:

These are the smaller lower cost fixes that could make a big difference to your monthly bills.

Water

• Heating water accounts for around 30 percent of most kiwis’ energy bills – so taking shorter showers will save on energy, water, and money.
• The same applies to laundry. Try and wash your clothes in cold water where possible.
• Fix dripping hot taps.
• Keeping spouting and guttering clean and free of debris to ensure water flows away from your house, rather than into it.

Insulation & Heating

• Make sure your windows and doors don't have gaps and cracks that let the warm air out.
• Fit draught stoppers under doors and plug gaps in skirting boards.
• Single-glazed windows are one of the main places that heat escapes from. Window films are the cheapest option which you can stick onto wooden window frames.
• Good quality curtains with a separate lining and blinds helps too.

Ventilation

• Turning on the extractor fan when you shower and double checking they’re vented externally will reduce moisture and mould in your bathroom.
• Drying clothes outside on a covered outdoor clothesline, using a vented dryer or condenser dryer can reduce moisture in your home.

Lighting and power Choosing energy efficient lighting could save you money as it’s cheaper to run, and lasts longer.

LONGER TERM INVESTMENTS:

These are the bigger solutions that cost more up front, but save you in the long run.

Water

• Wrapping your water heating cylinder with a cylinder wrap, and your hot water pipes with lagging (both available from hardware stores), will help keep water warmer for longer and use less energy.
• Installing water saving shower heads and low-flow hot water taps could also save on energy, water and money.

Insulation & Heating

• Investing in a heat pump is an efficient way to heat your home, keep you warmer and save on energy costs.
• Good quality and close fitting curtains or blinds.
• Installing doubling glazing can help ensure that once rooms are warm, they stay warm.
• Installing ceiling and floor insulation can make a big difference to the energy efficiency of your home.

Ventilation

• A ventilation system is another option to keep your home dry and avoid condensation.
• Installing extra extractor fans to remove or ‘extract’ moist air from your home to the outside.

Lighting and power

• Installing solar panels can be costly, but are a sensible investment in the long term. If you’re grid-tied, any excess power you generate gets sold back to the electricity grid too.

HOW CAN I GET ON BOARD?

Stuart Bent says a lot of regulation around healthy homes standards has forced many owners to make their home more energy efficient, and some banks are making it easier for them with lower interest loans.

“So at ANZ for example, you can spend up to $80,000, and as long as you can validate its use for a green or sustainable initiative, they will give you a much more favorable interest rate”

Bent believes however, that people will get the most bang for their sustainable buck by investing in a new build and getting involved in its design process.

“That’s where you'll really see the difference now. Homes are being designed with more sustainable initiatives than ever before, and it's not just about putting in an EV charger, it's actually having a good look at the thermal side of things. The glazing and the materials to get the greatest operational efficiencies.”

The build process is also equally important, and the carbon footprint that stems from it.

“Typically, if you're putting down big concrete to build a new home that's not seen these days as a very sustainable practice. Instead, we’re now starting to see more homes being built up on piles instead.”

WHEN WILL I START TO SEE A RETURN?

Bent says when it comes to going greener, quite often it can be a long game.

“Some people don't have a long term horizon to this. They want to see a short term return on investment, and that's when sometimes it’s not achievable.”

“You’re probably looking at five years plus to get a good economic return.”

But as time passes Bent says the price of going green is also starting to reduce.

“Because it's now being more widely accepted into design and build, a lot of these initiatives are starting to scale to a point where it's lowering the upfront cost.”

Many in the design and consultancy space are also seeing the value in incorporating sustainable practices from day one.

“There are more architects, engineers, designers and developers who very much embed sustainability into their design.”

“You used to get designers who were very worried about the cost of going green, and wouldn’t do it unless they could collect a premium price or higher rent. These days they’re basically telling the client that it’s standard practice.”

Bent says the tide is changing and while developers once saw it as a nice-to-have, they’re now viewing it as a must-have.