The generation most concerned about homes that conserve energy isn’t the one you’d expect.
According to Green Homes New Zealand Homestar Assesor Henry McTavish, it is retirees in their 60s and 70s – the baby boomers – who are the biggest movers and shakers in creating homes that are energy smart, sustainable and future-proof.
Technology is not their best friend, he says, but older people are the ones with the budget and enthusiasm for using green home technology and energy-efficiency when building new.
McTavish says that the boomer generation wants life-enhancing builds and, more importantly, are willing to pay for it while the younger generation is focused on aesthetics (and have tighter budgets).
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“Older people are the ones who pay for what’s useful and they are investing into innovations. They will pay a lot of money to have an energy-efficient home.
“Millennials care about homes that look good and they don’t have that cash.”
Intuitive air and water energy-saving home automation business Ata Touch co-founders Peter Tait and Jain Tait are benefiting from the trend in energy-efficient homes as their company has had a 400 percent growth in 18 months.
The technology and system they created regulates water and air heating using a single device, and is the only one in New Zealand and world-wide, Jain Tait says.
“Nobody else in the world is doing it holistically like us,” he says, of the artificial intelligence that learns and then predicts a household’s usage patterns," she says.
She says it is the older generation that has benefited most from rising property values rising and which has the finances to invest in longer-term energy saving systems.
New Zealand company Ata Touch created an app that manages energy use and controls lights, heating, security and spa while being away from home. Photo / supplied.
“People who are going into retirement and realising that this is probably the last home they are building for themselves, they are really pushing this.”
To install Ata Touch’s basic level energy-efficient kit in a four-bedroom house costs about $7000 and a mid-range installation that has advance air and water control costs between $18,000 and $25,000. A top of the range package, which includes major installation of data cables that link up security, windows and blinds, spa and swimming pool and more, can cost up to $160,000.
The systems use distributed intelligence that can control room temperature, schedule lighting from a touch screen, and heat the building and water from the same heat pump, saving 60 percent of hot water bills says Jain Tait.
Smart Installation expert Wayne Luke, who installs advanced technology into Auckland homes, says energy-saving at home has to be done holistically.
"Energy efficiency isn’t just about using power, it’s about harnessing energy, passively. Things like stone floors that absorb heat when the sun falls on them during the day, or using automatic skylights that let light in to heat up surfaces and then close when it gets colder,” he says.
Homeowners will get the best deals if they incorporate smart technology into the house from the get-go, rather than trying to renovate or retro-fit systems later.
