Evaluation of the Warmer Kiwis Homes Programme: Full Report including Cost Benefit Analysis

Caroline Fyfe (), Arthur Grimes, Shannon Minehan () and Phoebe Taptiklis ()
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Caroline Fyfe: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Shannon Minehan: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research
Phoebe Taptiklis: Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

No 22_14, Working Papers from Motu Economic and Public Policy Research

Abstract: We evaluate the heat pump component of New Zealand’s Warmer Kiwi Homes (WKH) programme. The programme includes provision of heat pumps in living areas for eligible households (based on neighbourhood or income) that do not have suitable heating. It also includes installation of retrofitted insulation for houses with insufficient insulation. Staggered installation enables difference-in-difference estimates of impacts. Heat pump outcomes on which we focus include warmth and dryness of the living area, personal comfort and wellbeing, and electricity consumption. We combine the heat pump findings with prior findings related to insulation and heating to provide a set of cost benefit analyses of WKH. We find that household members overwhelmingly report increases in warmth, comfort and satisfaction with their home, and report decreases in condensation, damp and having to restrict heating due to cost. Some increase in life satisfaction is reported. Living areas of treated houses experience increases in temperature which are most pronounced around breakfast and evening times, and when outdoor temperatures are low. Houses also experience reduced humidity. Households that use the heat pump as an air conditioner experience reduced summer temperatures when outdoor temperatures are high. Winter electricity use falls in a house fitted with a heat pump relative to houses without a heat pump; savings are negligible at night and increase through the day, peaking at 5-9pm. No increase in electricity consumption is detected in summer. Benefit cost ratios (BCRs) are calculated using both wellbeing metrics and conventional health and energy components. The wellbeing-based BCR for the heat pump component (which places a high value on living in a warm home) is estimated at 7.49 while the more conventionally calculated (but overly conservative) BCR is 2.15. For the full WKH programme, the corresponding BCRs are calculated as 4.36 and 1.89. Length: 86 pages

Keywords: Heat pumps; indoor temperature; electricity use; wellbeing; Warmer Kiwi Homes (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 I31 I38 Q48 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-12
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