By Dave Williams of NZPA

Wellington, May 28 NZPA - The budget announcement of $323 million to help insulate and better heat older homes has been warmly welcomed but rapid uptake by homeowners could put installers under pressure.

The Green Party has negotiated an enhanced home insulation programme with the National-led Government and this year's budget includes $323.3m over four years for home insulation, clean heat and other energy efficiency measures aimed at making a dramatic dent in the number of cold, damp homes across the country.

Homeowners could be eligible for a grant up to $1800, which is not subject to income testing, towards the cost of insulating their house.

More than 180,000 homes could have access to the grants.

A Business Council for Sustainable Development study, released last year, said 410,000 homes could be making their occupants sick.

Improving them could avoid sending 50 people a day to hospital with respiratory illness, saving $54m a year, and cut sick days by 180,000 a year, lifting the country's production by $17m.

Kensington Swan's Grant Hewison, a senior associate and expert in local government, who had been working with councils to make the scheme available to ratepayers, said the main thrust was to improve people's health.

The budget announcement would mean an expansion of a scheme already operating in Christchurch and Nelson, cities with well documented air quality problems.

A lot of open fires caused winter smog and the small airborne particulates that could cause respiratory and health problems.

Warmer homes with cleaner heating would mean healthier people and cleaner air, which would be good for everybody, Dr Hewison said.

"I think a lot of people will take this up because it is offered to everyone. It could quickly be oversubscribed."

Registered Master Builders Federation chief executive Warwick Quinn said the uptake could be seasonal as people rushed to get the work done before winter.

Whether there would be enough tradesmen available to install the insulation would depend on the uptake. "There might be a capacity issue if it all comes on stream at once."

Mr Quinn said the scheme overall would be good for manufacturers, retailers and installers.

Rough, ballpark figures put the cost of insulating a ceiling at between $1500 and $2000, with bigger homes costing more, while underfloor insulation could cost in the region of $3000, Mr Quinn said.

Better assistance with home insulation was great news for Canterbury people, said Environment Canterbury air portfolio chairwoman Jo Kane.

"Insulation is the key to warmer, drier homes, especially in Canterbury where winters are cold and damp and where much of the housing stock is old and poorly insulated."

The Community Energy Action Charitable Trust (CEA) applauded the budget announcement.

CEA was one of the organisations approved by the government to deliver the insulation and heating subsidy programme.

However, it warned that people should check what they need in terms of insulation and heater size to ensure they get the products that are right for them and not just for the suppliers.

"Fuel poverty, where households cannot afford to keep warm, is a reality in our community," said chief executive Bede Martin.

Present subsidies focus on insulation alone while insulation and heating went hand in hand, Mr Martin said.

Many people thought they had ceiling insulation when in fact it has packed down so much over the years that it was virtually ineffective, he said.

NZPA