KEA Centre cuts energy costs by over 50% with support from Trust Horizon
Over the last year, Kawerau’s KEA Centre has seen its electricity bills more than halved – thanks in part to a new insulation and air conditioning system, made possible with a $176,626 grant from Trust Horizon.
The Kawerau Enterprise Agency (KEA) is a self-funded not-for-profit, established in 1985 to foster thriving local enterprise. As part of this work, the organisation provides affordable rentals to help attract and keep businesses in Kawerau.
Many of these businesses are based at the KEA Centre. The building at 60 Onslow Street comprises almost 50 spaces, available for businesses to lease in the long or short-term. It is home to a busy café, along with a number of community organisations – including local health and disability services, aged care, childcare, counselling, mentoring and whānau support.
While its tenants and visitors filled the KEA Centre with warmth and energy, the building itself was thermally inefficient and in need of new insulation. “It’s an old 1950s wooden building, built in an era before insulation and double glazing,” says KEA General Manager, Kevin Power. “The units were being heated with power-hungry space heaters, which were proving expensive, particularly for our not-for-profit tenants.”
KEA applied to Trust Horizon for a grant to insulate exterior walls and ceiling cavities, and fit 37 heat pumps throughout the building. Installation was completed in August 2024, and over the past year, the effects have been transformational.
“It’s made a massive difference. The rooms are dry, there’s no black mould,” says Power. Trust Horizon had also previously provided KEA lending to help install solar panels, which – together with the new insulation – have had a significant impact. “Our energy consumption has dropped by about two thirds, and our electricity costs have more than halved.”
The impact has also been felt by the KEA Centre’s tenants. Particularly services such as aged care and midwifery, for whom a dry and healthy environment is even more important. “The tenants all love it. We’ve worked hard to create a good culture in the building, and there’s a really good vibe,” says Power. “Now that it’s also warm and comfortable, the KEA Centre is a place where people want to be. It’s a real community space, and it’s growing organically.”
Trust Horizon Trustee, Edwina O’Brien, says that this project aligned well with Trust Horizon’s vision of a sustainable future. “A more thermally efficient KEA Centre has meant a decrease in energy consumption, and an increase in the health and wellbeing of the centre’s tenants,” says O’Brien. “Through its many businesses and organisations, the KEA Centre sees almost 70,000 visitors a year. It’s an integral part of the Kawerau community, and Trust Horizon was thrilled to be able to help make the centre a comfortable, warm, and healthy place to be.”
KEA worked closely with Trust Horizon to help bring New Zealand’s first refrigerant destruction facility to Kawerau. Having collaborated on a number of initiatives in the past, the organisation hopes to partner with Trust Horizon again in the future.
“Trust Horizon is great to work with, and we really appreciate what they do,” says Power. “We’re so thankful to Trust Horizon for enabling KEA to create a healthy and warm environment for the community to enjoy.”
If you want to apply for funding from Trust Horizon, look at our funding page here for more information.