Why do it?
Why would I want environmental issues to be considered in my home?
To improve the health of your family, save you money on energy and water bills, and be more comfortable to live in. Having the added benefit of reducing your impact on the environment while having a more satisfying environment to live in...and perhaps even to increase the resale value of your house!
What issues can they provide advice on?
A group of eco design advisors visit a building site in Wanaka during an intelligence-gathering field trip.
Your local Eco Design Advisor is able to provide you with independent, factual and practical building information:
- Smart ideas on energy, water, material and waste issues
- Quick-start tips for your house-building project
- Essentials on low carbon living
They have access to a large number of specialist design assistance tools, assessment methods and hardcopy all for free.
Where do they operate?
This service is currently provided by six councils in New Zealand - but we welcome inquiries from other councils who may be interested.
Who is it for?
Both homeowners and building professionals working on home building or renovation projects. If you are an architect, you have the option of gaining 10 CPD credits for a 2 hour visit. Note that the service is currently only available to those living within the hosting Council areas.
I live outside the existing EDA council boundaries. Can you still help me with eco-building advice?
Possibly; generally advice is not given outside a council region. However, the exception to this rule is if you are a designer who either lives outside the region but who has clients/projects within the region or lives inside the region but has clients/projects outside of the region.
The best we can do for everyone else is give you up to 10 minutes quick advice...But you can register your interest/support for the EDA initiative by contacting Richard Morrison, to increase the chances of this program becoming available in your region. Just write "I want an EDA" in the Subject heading and let us know in which region you'd like us to operate in the future.
What types of home building projects does the Eco Design Advisor consult on?
Almost all types of domestic construction - complete new-build, renovations and even refurbishments, for stand-alone (detached) dwellings through to attached and multi-unit town houses.
I'm a manufacturer and am interested in promoting my environmentally friendly product - can the Eco Design Advisor assist me?
This an independent service, and as such, the Eco Design Advisor can only recommend generic product categories, rather than brand names. However, if you think your product has some smart (i.e. resource efficient) features, we'd like to hear about it.
Am I obliged to use or incorporate the advice the Eco Design Advisor gives me?
No - what you do with the advice is entirely up to you! The Eco Design Advisor is purely set up as a free service to inform people of the possibilities that are available to them.
What other information do you have?
See our LINKS section (click on the tab at the top) for some of the best available.
Who's idea was it?
This service is an initiative of BRANZ Ltd - NZ's independent research, testing, consultancy and information resource for the construction industry. BRANZ and Beacon Pathway provide on-going research and technical support to the service. Click here for links to project supporters.