Your HomeFit online check report
Version: HomeFit v1.1
Thanks for completing your self-assessment. The home looks like it needs some improvements before being HomeFit. Talk to your landlord or agent about getting some quotes and products installed to the recommendations below, then reassess. Once you’ve made the improvements, ask one of our assessors to do an independent HomeFit assessment.
| Looking Good | Needs Work | Un-answered | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry | |||
| Mould | - | - | |
| Kitchen ventilation | - | - | |
| Bathroom ventilation | - | - | |
| Groundsheet | - | - | |
| Warm | |||
| Floor | - | - | |
| Roof insulation | - | - | |
| Curtains and windows | - | - | |
| Draughts | - | - | |
| Heating | - | - | |
| Safe & Efficient | |||
| Water heating | - | - | |
| Shower | - | - | |
| Lighting | - | - | |
| Smoke alarms each floor | - | - | |
| Bedroom smoke alarms | - | - |
Looking good
Good to hear that the home is not damp or mouldy
No dampness or visible mould is a sign that this home is warm and dry. However, there may be mould in other less accessible places, and at certain times of the year. The best way to clean mould is to use a solution of 70mls of white vinegar and 30mls of water, spray it on affected areas, leave for up to an hour and then wipe off with a clean damp cloth. Keep an eye out especially in wardrobes and other enclosed spaces, and continue airing the home to remove stale, damp air.
The home has a kitchen rangehood
Great. Kitchen rangehoods allow moisture from cooking to be removed directly, reducing the need to ventilate with opening windows and reducing the risk that cooking moisture travels through the rest of the home.
Make sure to clean the filter regularly (they can often be put in dishwashers) to keep the rangehood running effectively. Check the rangehood is effective by holding an A4 piece of paper under it and see if the fan can lift it up. Lastly, to be HomeFit make sure the rangehood expels air to the outside and not into your roof - look for an outside vent.
All bathrooms have extractor fans
Great. Bathroom fans are one of the best things you can have to keep your home dry and warm and are a requirement of HomeFit and the Healthy Homes Standards. To be effective, fans should have an airflow of at least 25 litres per second (or have a fan ducting diameter of at least 120mm), which should be enough to hold up an A4 piece of paper.
Check that the fan ventilates to the outside, either through a wall, or if in a ceiling, through ducting connected to a grille on an outside wall or soffit, under the eaves.
Switch on the fan each time you take a shower or bath, and make sure it runs for at least 15 minutes after all water has drained away. A simple timer connected to the light switch can make this easier to manage and ensure everyone uses it. Don’t worry too much about the energy use if you accidentally leave it running too long. Fans are very cheap to run (less than 1c an hour).
Your home has good curtains and/or double glazing
Nice one! If you have curtains, be sure to use them, morning and evening, to let in that free heat from the sun and trap it as long as possible overnight.
If you have double glazing this will dramatically improve the thermal comfort of this home and reduce heat loss through the windows, which means heating works much more efficiently.
It’s still important to have 'good' curtains though, so aim to have both! By “good” we mean at least two layers, full length to the floor, and/or closed at the top (by a pelmet, the ceiling, or tight-fitting track).
For those areas where full-length curtains are inconvenient or just not possible (above heaters or kitchen benches for instance), we recommend Roman or cellular - sometimes called honeycomb - blinds. These should still be tight fitting on the side and against the sill and have at least two layers of blind material.
The home has no sources of draughts
Great to hear the home has no major sources of draughts.
The home has a well-insulated electric hot water cylinder
Electric cylinders are accepted under HomeFit provided they are well insulated. They are the most common form of hot water heating in New Zealand but they can be relatively inefficient because heat is constantly escaping from the stored hot water.
If the cylinder was installed post 2003, it is likely to be well-insulated. Whatever the age of the cylinder it can be improved by wrapping, so well done if you've done that. You can also improve efficiency by insulating the first metre of the hot water pipe leading from the top of the cylinder (lagging). Lagging can be bought from your local DIY or hardware store and is simple to install. For more information see this Gen Less advice on hot water.
The showers probably have an acceptable flow rate
Try measuring the flow to make sure, and if it’s more than 9 litres/min, consider installing a low flow shower head or flow restrictor. Look for a shower head with a WELS (Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme) rating of 3 or more. For more information see this Energywise advice on hot water.
It sounds like the home has mostly energy efficient lighting
Consider installing lighting timers, daylight sensors (particularly on any outdoor lighting) and dimmers to reduce energy consumption even more.
You may have downlights that require a gap in the insulation. These will need to be upgraded to meet the HomeFit standard, as they could reduce the effectiveness of your insulation (see an installer or electrician).
The home has at least one smoke alarm on each floor
Check that they are photoelectric and, if not, consider upgrading.
The home has smoke alarms either in each bedroom or within 3m of each bedroom
Check that they are photoelectric and, if not, consider upgrading.
Could use some work
The crawl space under the home does not have a groundsheet (ground moisture barrier)
HomeFit and the Healthy Home Standards recommend installing a groundsheet. A DIY install can cost as little as $200. See the EDA Factsheet on ground moisture barriers for step by step instructions.
Insulation companies can install it for you relatively cheaply, especially if you also need underfloor insulation done at the same time.
While you're looking under the floor check that air vents in the walls of the crawl space are free from vegetation or dirt building up outside. Air vents are often too small, blocked or not in sufficient numbers to create good cross-ventilation under a home.
You’re not sure how much roof insulation the home has
Get a qualified insulation company to check for you. To pass HomeFit and the Healthy Homes Standards you need at least 120mm of roof insulation but, if you're installing new insulation, we recommend at least R3.6 in most of the North Island and R4.0 in the South Island and Central Plateau. A supplier directory is provided at the end of this report.
You may have downlights that require a gap in the insulation. These will need to be upgraded to meet the HomeFit standard, as they could reduce the effectiveness of your insulation (see an installer or electrician).
The home has no source of heating in the main living area
Cold temperatures, particularly in bedrooms at night, are one of the main causes of hospitalisations for respiratory disease in New Zealand. At the very least we recommend the use of electric heaters to keep temperatures above 18°C, and ideally higher, when the home is occupied. If you can afford it, better still would be to get a heat pump or modern wood burning stove installed. If you’re looking to rent out the home note that the Government’s Healthy Home Standards require some kind of fixed heating source.
We don’t all have the time or expertise to fix up our home.
Here’s a handy list of professionals who can help make your home HomeFit. Some can even certify your home when they’re done!
Incomplete
Floor
Insulation is the cheapest form of heating. A $4,000 investment in roof and underfloor insulation will pay for itself many times over the lifetime of the home and will give immediate benefits in comfort and health for the household.
The Building Code requires all new homes to have insulation in roofs, walls and floors, as well as having double glazing. But about half of our existing homes do not even have enough insulation in the roof and/or underfloor. This is a huge opportunity to lower power bills and greenhouse gas emissions from home heating and reduce hospitalisation and time off work or school due to sickness directly caused by cold, damp homes.
The first areas to insulate are roofs and under suspended floors because it is easy and cost-effective in many homes. As of 1 July 2019, all private rental properties need roof and underfloor insulation wherever practical.
The government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme provides grants for roof and underfloor insulation to eligible homeowners (owner-occupiers) on low incomes. For more information, see Funding for Insulation. Other financial assistance can be found on the HomeFit finance options page.
ANZ has an interest-free home loan top up for home improvements. Click here for more details.