Ban south-facing homes in Dunedin - councillor

The southern city of Dunedin should ban new homes that face south so they can take more advantage of solar heating, says one councillor.

Fliss Butcher said developers often put views over energy efficiency - making them inefficient and expensive to heat, the Otago Daily Times reported.

Building new homes - facing north - to take greater advantage of the sun would improve ambient temperatures of homes and their ability to maximise the use of solar and other energy-efficiency initiatives, she said.

"It is no longer good enough for anyone to be building, in the southern hemisphere, houses facing the wrong way," she said.

However, Deputy Mayor Chris Staynes was against a blanket ban on south-facing homes and instead wanted a home's sunshine hours made available to prospective buyers or tenants.

Councillor Syd Brown said a south-facing ban would make it impossible to build in some areas of Dunedin, where large blocks of land were ready for housing.

- NZPA