Rotorua community supports Hot Swap

Working together the Rotorua community and the Bay of Plenty Regional Council have removed 50 open fires and 318 old wood burners from Rotorua homes through an interest-free loan programme called the Hot Swap Loan.

This will remove more than three tonnes of small particulates from Rotorua’s air.

The Hot Swap, launched in August 2010, is an interest-free loan, paid off over 10 years to upgrade old wood burners and open fires to clean heat.

Rotorua has the worst winter time air quality in the North Island, mainly caused by home heating. This scheme is an integral part of the Rotorua Air Quality Action Plan to meet the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council Group Manager Strategic Development Mary-Anne Macleod said the community’s support for the Hot Swap had been high but there were still a lot of homes to upgrade to clean heat to reduce air pollution in Rotorua.

“We are very happy with the number of households that we have been able to convert to clean heat and we hope that the commitment of people to make the change continues,” Mrs Macleod said.

“As the weather starts to get cooler people think about their heating options. Homes with new efficient heating will be warmer and our air will be cleaner.”

Rotorua homeowners and landlords with properties in the urban air-shed are eligible to apply for the loan to convert old wood burners and open fires to clean heat. The air-shed is an area within Rotorua that exceeds the National Environmental Standards for Air Quality, and covers most of urban Rotorua.

Clean heat is about appliances that use fuel efficiently to heat homes and have little or no emissions compared to open fires and old wood burners. Clean heat options include approved wood burners, pellet fires, heat pumps and flued gas heaters.

“Being warm is just as important as having clean air to breathe. We recommend that homeowners stay warm and investigate which clean heat appliance will suit them best by getting a Home Heating Assessment from one of the Regional Council’s service providers,” Mrs Macleod said.

Requesting a home heating assessment is easy. Call 0800 Hot Swap, visit www.hotswap.co.nz or call one of the Regional Council’s service providers.

More information is available on regional council website www.boprc.govt.nz.