Residents in new Auckland terraces, apartments swelter in summer: council study

• Residents in medium-density units, terraces suffer in summer in hot upstairs bedrooms
• Having too many toilets, not enough car parks and not enough storage are other gripes
• Some homes are so tiny that having parties or even visitors becomes a problem

Highly glazed upstairs bedrooms with tight window safety latches in new Auckland terraces and apartments are sweltering, resulting in uncomfortable sleeping conditions, according to a new Auckland Council study of medium-density homes here.

“Upper levels of terraced houses and duplexes are too hot in summer,” says the report, Life in Medium Density Housing in Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland, by Kathryn Ovenden and Melanie McKelvie who work in policy, planning and governance.

The combination of large windows, small window openings, solar orientation, reduced natural ventilation and minimal shade like eaves or established trees means many terraces and apartments are too hot in summer, they said.

“Participants were dissatisfied with hot temperatures as they cause uncomfortable sleeping conditions and this could have heat-related health implications,” the report says.

Residents are resorting to keeping curtains closed and windows open, buying free-standing fans and installing ceiling fans, heat pumps and airconditioning units.

“These changes have a financial cost — installation cost as well as ongoing running costs — and they can also take up storage space which prevents other uses,” the report says, citing ducting for airconditioning in wardrobes that then limited clothes storage.

Such units may also be contributing to an urban heat-island effect, the report says, referring to the concept where structures like buildings and roads re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes.

“The occurrence of hot homes may increase as our climate changes and Auckland experiences warmer temperatures,” the study found.

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk in July said New Zealand was over-insulating homes.

Some new homes in New Zealand’s northernmost area were so energy-efficient that they must be cooled in the winter, he said as he defended his plan to review building standards.

Residents within medium-density Auckland homes gave feedback to council experts for the study. Photo / Richard Robinson

“We are hearing that in warmer parts of New Zealand such as Northland, residents are having to expend more energy on cooling their home, making the H1 requirements not only expensive but also counterproductive,” Penk said in announcing a possible review of those energy standards.

The H1 Building Code clause regulates a home’s energy efficiency, covering wall, floor, and ceiling insulation and window and door thermal performance.

Penk said material supplied to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment showed cooling houses during winter via heat pumps was expensive.

The ministry got “state-of-the-sector unprompted comments” about the new H1 home energy-efficiency standards, Penk indicated might need reviewing. The feedback said: “Change the H1 regulations: homes are now too warm. Clients need to run aircon in winter to cool the home down!”

But Penk got a furious backlash to that proposal, particularly from Green Building Council chief executive Andrew Eagles, who said: “It’s unbelievably short-sighted and goes against global best practice for housing. This is effectively ripping insulation out of children’s homes.”

Future generations would be sentenced to a life of cold housing if standards were reduced, Eagles said.

The council’s economic and social research and evaluation team did the study last year to investigate Aucklanders’ experience of living in recently built medium-density housing.

It surveyed 1337 people living in 1243 properties and did 20 in-depth visits, which it referred to as “immersions”.

Other gripes or conclusions from residents in medium-density new Auckland homes are:

• Too many bathrooms, toilets: More than half the consented plans for two and three-bedroom homes analysed showed one bathroom and/or separate toilet per bedroom — one more bathroom or toilet than is recommended by the council’s Auckland design manual. It was also found these spare bathrooms were often being used for storage or drying laundry;
• Home too small for visitors, parties: Lack of space makes parties, entertaining visitors and engaging in hobbies difficult. Developers need to think more carefully and thoughtfully about building in shared common spaces like a common room, especially for apartments;
• Garages not only for cars: Being used as multifunctional spaces, not just for cars — some people prefer a bit of extra space in their homes, maybe more so than a place to park their car, with some garages being converted to gyms, office space or extra storage — with flow-on parking problems because scarce street parking is taken up;
• Privacy problem: Nearly half of all the participants living in terraced houses and duplexes have made changes to improve privacy like keeping curtains and blinds closed during the day, using furniture to block views and adding film or frosting to windows. Such changes can diminish the positive safety benefits of people overlooking public and semi-public spaces.

The study is drawing feedback from the development and design community, some saying they agree too many toilets are going into such new homes.

Others said the study showed how medium-density was not for everyone, while others backed the Government review of insulation standards.

“Choice and affordability often don’t go hand in hand. The research paper interviewed people in MDR situations with questions like, would you like more space storage? Yes response questions. The real question is would you pay or be able to pay 15% more for that? That answer would be no,” one commenter said.

“Not surprised the garage is being used as a multifunctional space as some of the plans I’ve seen it’s the biggest room in the house,” said another.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.