It's a common remark - New Zealand homes are cold and damp. Statistics back that fact up, 49 percent of Kiwi homes have visible mould.
And while the government has introduced new rules around insulation and heating, a lot of Kiwis are still toughing it out over winter and chucking on an extra jersey.
Now, a new tool has been designed to remind us that cold homes aren't healthy, and it comes in the form of a cuddly sheep called Mr Humfreez.
It’s been created as part of the ANZ Healthy Homes initiative by scientists from the University of Waterloo in Ontario.
Dale Bailey is in charge of the school trial in Auckland and told Wallace Chapman that while the NZ-designed products include no electronics, they have got some pretty hi-tech features.
“Its nose is covered with a type of paint that changes – it comes alive into a blue colour when it’s below 18 degrees - and the horns are made of wood, and when the humidity is too high they start to poke their horns right to the sky.”
The nose turning blue at 18 degrees and the horns going up, when the humidity is 65 percent and over, are both in line with recommendations for healthy homes. And temperature and humidity are the two critical things for better homes, Bailey says.
He’s now trialling Mr Humfreez at Stonefields School in Auckland and it seems the sheep's charm really works.
“You’d think they’d be more impressed with the hi-tech stuff, [but] they actually loved that he didn’t have any batteries and that he was made from natural materials.
“They absolutely fell for him straight away and it’s not an easy topic to get people talking about and so having something with a personality, like Mr Humfreez, is just working really well.
“It’s designed to be very approachable, and people want to care for him because he’s very cute … it’s meant to be a starting point in educating people so we start with raising awareness, getting curiosity going, a little bit of inquiry and hopefully lead to some actions.”
And for kids, Mr Humfreez could be the starting point for which they get talking about healthy homes, Bailey says.
“We’ve got some pretty challenging statistics in New Zealand, we’ve got 47 percent of Kiwi homes lacking proper insulation and 49 percent have visible mould … and for our young people we need healthy homes so their learning can be great as well.”
He’s hoping that once the trial at the school is completed this year and feedback is taken into account that they’ll be able to expand Mr Humfreez to all of New Zealand.
The first 100 Mr Humfreezs are being given away for free by ANZ through a draw, which closes on 30 September 9am.
