New research provides the first system-level picture of home energy advice in Aotearoa New Zealand, finding significant existing capability, but a fragmented and poorly connected system.
This report presents the findings from phase one of a two-phase initiative exploring how home energy advice can better support households and contribute to healthier, more comfortable, affordable and energy-efficient homes.
The research found that home energy advice is already a well-established practice in Aotearoa. A capable workforce, delivery organisations, programmes and training pathways already exist. However, this capability is dispersed across a fragmented and poorly connected system that has evolved in an uncoordinated way and there is no enduring funding model for home energy advice.
Many organisations and individuals that influence household decisions do not recognise themselves as part of a wider home energy advice system, and there is no evidence of a shared understanding of how different forms of information, advice and support should work together.
What the research found
- Home energy advice is an established practice that supports households to take action. There is a strong evidence base supporting the function of advice, and Aotearoa has experienced practitioners, established training pathways, and a range of successful advice services and delivery models.
- There is significant capability across the system, but it is fragmented and poorly connected. The practice of home energy advice has developed over several decades through a variety of programmes and funding streams, creating substantial capability. However, the system is uncoordinated and there is limited visibility and alignment across the wider system.
- Effective home energy advice is relational, not simply technical. Trust, communication skills, cultural capability and an understanding of household circumstances are just as important as technical knowledge in helping people make informed decisions and take action.
- Capability is not being supported consistently across the system. While considerable expertise exists, competency requirements, professional development opportunities and ongoing support vary significantly between programmes and organisations. Funding constraints and the contraction of some services are also putting pressure on existing capability.
- There are multiple current and emerging drivers of home energy advice, but they are not well connected. Housing quality, health, energy affordability, household electrification and other emerging trends shape demand for advice. However, there is little evidence that these drivers are part of a coherent system, or that different forms of information, tools, advice and support are being considered together to meet household needs.
Why this matters
Households are making increasingly complex decisions about the health, comfort and energy affordability of their homes. At the same time, a growing range of drivers, spanning housing quality, health, energy affordability, household electrification and climate resilience, are shaping the need for home energy advice.
While these drivers are often connected through their effects on households and homes, and sometimes by the practitioners delivering advice, they have largely developed through separate programmes, funding arrangements and stakeholder networks. Growing household electrification in particular is likely to shape both the types of decisions households face and the advice they need.
These trends are occurring at a time when funding constraints and the contraction of some existing services are putting pressure on delivery capability.
The findings suggest that the key challenge is not whether home energy advice has a role to play, but how existing capability, services and stakeholder interests can be better connected, supported and aligned to meet changing household needs.
About the research
The research draws on a desktop review, online surveys of home energy advice practitioners and managers, and interviews with stakeholders to provide a system-level picture of home energy advice in Aotearoa.
It considers the role and value of home energy advice, the capability that already exists across the sector, and the wider conditions that influence how advice is provided and accessed.
The research was conducted by Beacon Pathway in partnership with Allen + Clarke and was funded by BRANZ through the Building Research Levy.
What happens next
This report provides the evidence base for the next phase of the initiative.
Subject to funding, phase two will bring stakeholders together to co-design and prototype an operating model for a better connected home energy advice system in Aotearoa. The aim will be to build on the considerable capability that already exists, rather than starting again, and explore how different actors, services and drivers can work together more coherently around household needs.
Download the report:
For more information contact:
Sally Blackwell – sallyb@beaconpathway.co.nz or the Beacon Office
Research Partner
