Insulate your home and support Cure Kids with Expol’s new campaign.

Good insulation means a healthier home – but despite years of efforts under successive governments, tens of thousands of Kiwis will soon suffer through another damp, cold and mouldy winter.

In its mission to make every household more comfortable, insulation specialist Expol has teamed up with Cure Kids, encouraging Kiwis to support a worthy cause while also improving their own home insulation.

And staying warm and healthy isn’t as simple as just having insulation installed once then forgetting about it.

“Insulation is a bit of a moving target,” says Expol CEO Mark Mischefski. “That’s because building standards change, some insulation types lose their effectiveness over time, and, of course, there are always dwellings which just never had any decent insulation of any sort.”

He should know, having once owned a draughty villa. “There was one bedroom where you could walk in and feel the cold seeping into your toes,” Mischefski recalls, adding that guests routinely avoided the room until remedial action was taken – using, of course, Expol product from the family-owned business.

While up-to-date figures aren’t available, a 2016 joint report from the New Zealand Human Rights Commission and Kāinga Ora entitled ‘Inadequate Housing & Its Impact On Children’ estimated that up to 600,000 homes have either insufficient ceiling and underfloor insulation, or none at all. By 2022, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority noted that the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme had delivered over 365,000 insulation retrofits.

Other private efforts, driven by rental standards and homeowner initiatives, have insulated many more homes, but a shortfall remains.

“What we’ve seen over time is that even homes which were up to standard some years ago may no longer meet the most current building standards,” says Mischefski. “Then you have ‘settling’ of some insulation types. It literally compresses in the walls, or in the ceilings, losing effectiveness. So, if your house feels like it’s getting draughty, it probably isn’t just your imagination.”

He says that while Expol – which manufactures expanded polystyrene insulation – has long contributed to multiple charities and good causes, it sought a longer-term partnership. “We identified Cure Kids as an ideal charity because there’s a common goal. They’ve made substantial investments researching some of the conditions which arise out of damp and mouldy homes. And that’s what we’ve been doing for nearly 50 years, helping sort out Kiwi homes with better insulation.”

Specifically, Cure Kids has put some $2.8 million towards rheumatic heart disease research, with eight active projects. It has also invested more than $800,000 into respiratory conditions, with five active projects at present. “These are precisely the kinds of diseases and issues people – especially children – are more likely to face when living in a cold, damp home,” Mischefski notes.

Insulation, of course, plays a crucial role in maintaining comfortable indoor temperatures, reducing energy consumption, and promoting overall health and wellbeing. While playing a more prominent role in winter, insulation is just as effective in summer, preventing excessive heating.

Expol’s products are essentially a polystyrene layer placed under floors, in walls, or in ceilings; the company has a distributed manufacturing model, with plants in seven locations around New Zealand. “We like being close to our customers, because of the nature of our products,” explains Mischefski. “Poly is lightweight and bulky, so making it close to where it’s used saves on transport and creates efficiencies in supply.”

The company takes pride in its social responsibility, Mischefski says, noting its “strong focus on recycling, both in terms of our own waste and taking in waste generated by imported packaging”. In fact, all seven of its factories operate with a ‘zero waste’ approach, and 75% of its products contain recycled content. Additionally, its Household Polystyrene Recycling Programme takes in more than 1000 cubic metres of the material every month, which then goes back into insulation for Kiwi homes.

Coming back to the relationship with Cure Kids, Mischefski says it is in its early days, but there are big plans afoot. “Our initial effort will see a donation of 50c from our income on every bag of Expol Timber Underfloor Insulation sold between April 1 and May 31. We thought it best to take the money directly out of the price at which we supply our retail partners, so it doesn’t impact customers – but does help Cure Kids.”

The cumulative effect of 50c per bag means the result isn’t a trivial amount. Based on historical sales numbers, the drive is expected to raise between $10,000 and $15,000. Mischefski says that is “just the start”.

“We’ll be working with Cure Kids to explore further avenues and see how we can work together towards a warmer, healthier country. But for now, we’re pleased to get involved and let our customers know that when they are insulating their own homes, they’re helping others at the same time.”

Check out Expol online and look for its products in retailers including Bunnings Warehouse, Carter’s, ITM, Mitre 10, PlaceMakers, and BuildLink.