Insulation installers cut the flaws

Almost a third of the 43,000 houses fitted with insulation in the Government-subsidised Warm Up New Zealand: Heat Smart scheme could have quality problems, a survey shows.

But that is an improvement on late last year, when quality problems were discovered in 60 per cent of houses tested.

A random inspection of 478 houses last month discovered quality issues such as light fittings covered with insulation, manholes left uncovered and gaps in the insulation in 32 per cent of homes.

Safety issues - situations that could result in a fire - were discovered in 1 per cent of properties, down from 3.2 per cent in the December survey.

The April survey has resulted in 11 installation firms being given warnings.

More than 43,430 houses have had heat pumps or insulation installed since the scheme started last July.

Davies Heat'n Cool in Dunedin was one of the companies warned, but manager Peter Chettleburgh said the problems were minor.

"It wasn't us, it was a partner we work with. It was only one out of about 600 houses we've done," he said.

He believed the problem was insulation installed over a downlight.

The operations manager of Community Energy Action in Christchurch, Paul Phillips, said insulation placed over downlights was the single biggest problem for installers.

"We know some firms won't put insulation into houses now with downlights. The risk is too high," Mr Phillips said.

Community Energy had worked on 2500 to 3000 Christchurch houses since last July, and Mr Phillips said there was an issue in just one house.

Insulation covered a downlight for about a week and was rectified immediately on discovery.

"It was a wake-up call, getting a warning from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority," Mr Phillips said.

Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said if any of the 11 firms named were found to make mistakes again, they might be dropped from the scheme.

The majority of issues identified in the latest audit round were minor, Mr Brownlee said, and an audit crackdown introduced five months ago was working.

"The number of houses with quality issues is dropping and the types of quality issues are also becoming more minor," Mr Brownlee said.

All potential safety and quality issues must be fixed by the installer at their own cost. The authority announced changes in December after house fires from Australia's Government-backed insulation scheme which has now ended.

EECA now demands assurance from installers that where a check found a covered downlight, all other homes with downlights insulated during the same period be checked.

Government subsidies can be withheld until problems are fixed.

Firms warned:

Community Energy Action, Davies Heat 'n Cool, Energy Mad, EnergySmart, Energy Saving Centre, Metro Homes (Firezone), Righthouse, a Meridian Energy subsidiary, Southtile Ltd, Sustainability Trust, Tasman/PinkFit, part of Fletcher Building, Warm My Home.