Poor response to loans

Press, 26 October 1982, Page 24

Poor response to loans

The poor response from the public of Christchurch to the availability of loan money to convert home heating from open fires to electricity is disappointing but hardly surprising. The scheme was not announced until April and the nearness of winter probably discouraged some householders who would have been receptive to the scheme from embarking on change at such a late stage. Only 24 applications for loans have been received since then. At a limit of $250 a loan, this represents only $6OOO out of the $400,000 available in the loan fund set up jointly by the Government and the Christchurch City Corneil. Other householders considering a change from open fires might have been encouraged to take the step if the loans were also available for solid-fuel heaters approved for use in clean-air zones. This is not so. The loans are restricted to allelectric conversions only. The approved solid-fuel heaters comply with the requirements for clean-air zones. Nevertheless some pollutants are still given off and electric heating is pollutionfree. The desire of the council, which administers the loan scheme, to encourage the cleanest form of heating possible is understandable. It might not be the best way to achieve a substantial reduction of air pollution to acceptable levels in the shortest possible time. The council’s own figures show that during the last six

months, when the 24 loan applications were made for electric conversions, 800 householders sought permits to install approved solid-fuel appliances. The council’s view of the figures is that they show no additional need for encouraging changes from open fires to approved solidfuel burners. The figures might also indicate that comparatively few people want to rely solely on electricity, whatever the incentives, and that many more are prepared to meet all the costs immediately as long as they can retain solid-fuel heating. For many people, the certainty of a back-up water-heating system from a solidfuel heater in the event of power cuts or the imposition of ripple control is a prime consideration. As well as those prepared to go it alone on solid-fuel conversions, others might also be encouraged to switch from open fires if loans were extended to cover approved appliances. Both electric and solid-fuel conversions meet the council’s aims: the reduction of air pollution and a healthier environment. One is an ideal, but clinging to the ideal without public support could delay a significant improvement in the levels of air pollution. The gravity of the pollution problem in Christchurch is such that the council should reflect on the fact that the conversion of 800 open fires to approved appliances will have more immediate benefits than the conversion of 24 open fires to electric heating.