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Mayor unveils a smarter smaller solution to the Auckland housing market

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Mayor Len Brown with Justin Burgess General Manager James Hardie NZ (L) and Stu Munro General Manager Jennian Homes Auckland Ltd

Better apartment style living is one solution to Auckland’s housing shortage being brought to market by Jennian Homes in partnership with James Hardie.

Auckland Mayor Len Brown officially opened the new Smarter Small Show Home today which is situated on Main Highway in the heart of Ellerslie.

The Smarter Small Home is a concept pioneered in Australia and seen first-hand by a team from Jennian Homes when they travelled to Brisbane on a study tour in May 2011. Impressed by the concept of a home that maximises internal house space on small land footprint, optimises use of building materials, minimises building site wastage and is extremely energy efficient, the Jennian group returned to New Zealand determined to work with James Hardie and bring a Kiwi version of the Smarter Small home to the market.

The home at which Mr Brown cut the ribbon today is based on the Smarter Smaller Home series of plans designed by Auckland based architects, Creative Arch and boasts a low maintenance James Hardie exterior, photo-voltaic power generation, rainwater harvesting, a heat-pump for generating hot water , energy efficient LED lighting and many other efficiency based features.

Tim Arlott from Jennian Homes Auckland says the home uses only 400 watts of lighting power by fitting Light Emitting Diode (LED) technology. “We have also installed a 2.5 kilowatt photovoltaic solar power unit on the roof. This means that even if all of the lights are switched on, the electricity meter runs backwards taking an estimated 2kW per hour off of the power bill.”

“Add in the water tank and the heat pump hot water and this will be one very economical house over its lifetime,” he says.

Design features also maximise efficiency within the Smarter Small Home through minimising hallways, making the most of the sun’s natural energy with well-planned glazing and best use of land through a small footprint, two-storey dwelling. The home is likened to standalone apartment-style living.

Jennian Homes believes the Smarter Small Home concept is a perfect solution to Auckland’s housing needs as it still gives the discerning would-be homebuilder a stylish and customised home within the confines of urban city living coupled with maximum energy savings.

ENDS

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