81yo using sleeping bags, skipping showers, eating cold food only as power bill jumps
Thursday, 25 June 2026
When Woolston retiree Steve Evans settles in for a cold Christchurch evening, he often reaches for a sleeping bag rather than turning up the heat.
Evans, who is 81, lives alone on the pension in a two-bedroom rental unit. He said rising power costs have made him “increasingly careful” about how he uses electricity.
His power bill rose from about $120 in April to $160 in May, and he worries it could climb further as temperatures drop.
“I consciously try to keep my power bill down because that way I can spend on other things, like food,” Evans said.
To keep costs down, he showers every second night, avoids baking, eats many meals that do not require cooking and is careful to turn off lights and heating whenever he leaves home.
He does not cook breakfast or lunch most days. “When it’s really cold, I get my sleeping bag out and I lie on the sofa with my sleeping bag and watch television.”
Evans turns his heat pump off when he goes to bed and only switches it back on in the early morning if the cold becomes too much. .
“It was so cold last week that I got up about 4 o’clock in the morning and turned it on and went back to bed so that when I got up it wasn’t freezing.”
He is not alone in being cold at home.
A new report has found Kiwi homes are generally warmer than they were 20 years ago, but too many bedrooms remain cold at night, increasing the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular issues.
The just-released report from the Building Research Association of New Zealand (Branz) analysed indoor temperature data from more than 250 NZ households.
Researchers found living rooms typically reach about 20C in the evening, above the World Health Organisation’s recommended minimum of 18C, but bedrooms averaged about 16.5C overnight and, around 6am, one in four bedrooms falls below 14C.
Branz senior research scientist Vicki White, who led the study, said 18C was the recommended minimum for healthy adults. “Some people, like young children, the elderly or those with an illness will need it warmer than that.”
University of Otago researcher Professor Nevil Pierse described the findings as “stark”. Having bedroom temperatures below 16C was linked to increased respiratory and cardiovascular risk. He said New Zealand’s building standards were 40 years behind international standards for energy efficiency and healthy housing.
Age Concern Canterbury chief executive Greta Bond said many older people were forced to choose between heating and other essentials.
“A lot of older people, particularly those living solely on NZ Superannuation, find it very difficult to afford to heat their homes, and sometimes they’re choosing between warmth and food.”
She said rising living costs were leading many to limit heating use. “This year more than usual, people are really struggling financially, particularly those on lower incomes.”
Bond said some people were staying home because they could not afford to go out but their home could also be “quite grim and cold.
“That's not good for people's physical or mental health.”
It was also linked to rising respiratory illness and wider health pressures. “If we invested in keeping people warm, dry, and fed, then actually that would be better for people, but also save money down the line.”
Age Concern Canterbury is working with the Warmer Kiwi Homes programme to help eligible older people access insulation and heating support.
Phil Squire, Fair Energy Manager at Toast Electric — New Zealand’s only not-for-profit electricity supplier — said Christchurch and wider Canterbury households typically used 20 to 25% more electricity in winter than comparable homes in Wellington, and up to 30% more than those in Auckland.
When power prices went up, even households with steady incomes could come under pressure, and often responding by cutting back on heating.
“If you don’t have enough money to afford sufficient energy, you’re going to struggle.”
He said housing quality was a key factor, including insulation gaps, draughts, and poor window performance. Renters were particularly vulnerable because they often could not make improvements.
Simple measures could help reduce heat loss, he said, including the use of curtains on single-glazed windows.
A University of Otago analysis estimates that at least 360,000 households in Aotearoa New Zealand are in energy poverty hardship.
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Conflict of interest statement: 'I have no conflict of interest. I participated in the MOTU-led evaluation of the Warmer Kiwi Homes program