Clean heat loans to help Rotorua breathe | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua

Environment Bay of Plenty will offer homeowners an interest-free loan of up to $4000 to help replace old fires and burners with clean heat appliances.

The loan scheme is an essential part of the programme to improve the quality of Rotorua's air, says the regional council's chief executive, Bill Bayfield.

"This will make a huge difference to Rotorua's air quality, in the same way a similar programme of work has done wonders with Christchurch's air quality," Mr Bayfield said.

The loan scheme, Hot Swap Loan, includes a home heating assessment and an interest-free loan of up to $4000, to be paid off over 10 years.

Only Rotorua home owners in the urban airshed are eligible to apply for the loan to convert old wood burners and open fires to clean heat.

The airshed is an area within Rotorua that exceeds the national environmental standards for air quality and covers most of urban Rotorua.

The Council said it had budgeted for loans for 1000 homeowners for this financial year - until June 2011 and for between 800 and 1000 loans for the following financial year.

"Our loan will make the cost of upgrading to clean heat affordable for homes in the airshed," Mr Bayfield said.

Clean heat means appliances that use fuel efficiently to heat homes and have little or no emissions like clean-burning wood burners, pellet fires, heat pumps and flued gas heaters. "Homes with new efficient heating will be warmer and our air will be cleaner," Mr Bayfield said.

• Get your home assessed by calling 0800 Hot Swap or visiting www.hotswap.co.nz.

AIR QUALITY

Sixty per cent of Rotorua's air pollution in winter is caused by wood and other solid fuel burners.

The National Environmental Standards for Air Quality sets the concentration limit of fine particulates at 50g/cu m. Rotorua regularly exceeds this limit, mainly in winter.

 A 26 per cent reduction in emissions is needed in Rotorua to meet the national standards.

 Nearly 50 per cent of Rotorua homes use some form of solid fuel burners as their main source of heating.

 The vast majority of burners in Rotorua are at least 15 years old and are past their effective life expectancy. They are therefore less efficient and produce more pollution than models available today.

 An estimated 7650 homes need to upgrade to clean heat to meet the national standards.