Benefits of Home Energy Ratings

Home energy ratings provide home-specific energy information for New Zealand homeowners, with a goal of promoting and improving energy efficiency and a healthier home environment.

On this page:

• Towards a more energy efficient housing stock
• A warmer, healthier home
• Good for the environment
• Better information for New Zealanders

Towards a more energy efficient housing stock

Improving the energy efficiency of our homes has huge benefits, both for individuals/families and at a national level. Home Energy Ratings can help New Zealand work towards a more energy efficient housing stock by:

• Improving consumer awareness of the energy performance of homes.
• Highlighting the benefits of energy efficient homes.
• Providing practical advice to homeowners to help them make better decisions about their homes.
• Providing a tool for home designers to build to higher energy performance standards.

The Home Energy Rating programme is one of a range of Government initiatives working towards warm, healthy homes with reduced energy bills.

A warmer, healthier home

Around a quarter of New Zealand’s homes have inadequate ceiling insulation, and over two thirds have inadequate under floor insulation.^[1.]

A higher standard of energy efficiency in New Zealand’s homes means more New Zealanders are living in homes that are warmer, healthier and more affordable to run. A Home Energy Rating assessment can show you how.

Good for the environment

Around 33% of New Zealand’s electricity is used in the residential sector. Home energy usage accounts for 10% of greenhouse gases emitted. Under the Kyoto Protocol, New Zealand is required to reduce these emissions.

We can all do our bit to reduce our impact by being more energy efficient at home, and a Home Energy Rating assessment can help show you what the opportunities are to reduce your home’s environmental footprint.

Better information for New Zealanders

Recent research shows 86% of homeowners are interested in information about making their home more energy efficient. The current lack of home-specific information is a major barrier for people to uptake energy efficiency in their homes. Energy efficiency has huge benefits both at an individual level and for the country, but how do you prioritise something you can’t necessarily see or compare?

Information has been available for some time to tell us about the energy efficiency of things like fridges and washing machines. A Home Energy Rating assessment offers a way of making a home’s energy performance more tangible and visible so people can make informed decisions about their homes.