“The rebuild of Christchurch is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve energy use and home heating. To put up walls without insulation makes no sense. Given we already know a significant proportion of Christchurch housing is under-insulated, now is the time to get it right.” The Christchurch Agency for Energy (CAfE) supports the view that it makes more sense to insulate houses as the walls are repaired.
Rather than miss the chance to make a big difference to the quality of housing stock in Christchurch, CAfE is keen to help find a workable solution.
CAfE CEO Merv Altments says the costly retrofitting to add insulation later is, in most cases, unlikely to happen; “It’s pretty obvious most repaired uninsulated walls won’t be retrofitted later. “CAfE believes there is a way to work through the issues to find a satisfactory outcome, and we’re keen to work with EQC, EQR, Fletchers and the Government to achieve this,” says Mr Altments.