Whitianga woman wins Mitre 10 Dream Home ENERGYWISE™ prize

Local Whitianga woman Tenneille Collins is the proud owner of energy efficient lighting and motion sensors worth $1,500, thanks to her winning entry in the Mitre 10 Dream Home viewers competition.

Tenneille is looking forward to having this energy efficient lighting package installed in her new home in Whitianga.

She is set to save on her household energy bill, as lighting makes up around 12% of a typical household electricity bill. The motion sensors mean that the lighting will only be on when its needed, and the modern, stylish lighting uses less electricity overall.

Switching to energy efficient lighting is a smart idea - even replacing your four most-used bulbs with energy efficient lights can save around $60 per year. When it comes to efficient lighting and bulbs, there are lots of options to choose from, which suit a range of different lighting needs.

Mitre10 Dream Home is a reality television series, which follows the experience of two couples in creating their dream home. The show screens every Monday night at 7.30pm between 23 February and 20 April 2009.

EECA and it's ENERGYWISE^™ programme play an important role in the series. EECA's energy expert Glenn Murdoch has been involved with the couples, providing technical expertise, advice and ideas and helping them to incorporate energy efficient choices into their renovations.

Glenn Murdoch says "it is easy to include energy efficient choices into your home, particularly during a major renovation, and in the end it's going to benefit the families with reduced energy bills".

ENERGYWISE™ is offering viewers the chance to win one of nine home energy efficiency weekly prizes.

Prizes include:

• Insulation installed in the ceiling or underfloor up to the value of $1,500 (GST inclusive)
• Prize 16 March 2009 - An ENERGY STAR® washing machine
• Prize 24 March 2009 - An ENERGY STAR® laptop
• Prize 30 March 2009 - An ENERGY STAR® fridge/freezer