Published 27 September 2021

Meet the Wellington Home Energy Savers

We’ll be the first to admit that the idea of letting a complete stranger come into your house, to assess your heating, ventilation, lighting and water and power use is a bit weird…and confronting.

There’s not a lot we can do about the assessment part, but we can make it less weird by introducing you to the crew.

Meet your new besties - The WHESPYs.

Craig Auty - born and bred Wellingtonian, football enthusiast and longest-standing member of the WHESP crew.

Craig is a die-hard Wellingtonian. Growing up in Wainuiomata he quickly developed a passion for sports, particularly cricket and football. He spent his teenage years at Onslow College in Johnsonville and joined the Trust shortly after finishing school. He spent the first five years as an insulation installer, and then the past 6.5 years as a WHESP assessor. That’s a whopping 11.5 years at the Trust.

It’s safe to say, Craig has been up in more ceilings and in more homes than most of us will see in a lifetime.

Somewhere along the line he managed a school holiday programme for 5-14-year-olds and taught football in schools.

Experience & Qualifications:

• 1 year as an installer + 4 years as an Install Team Leader

• 6.5 years as a WHESP assessor

• Fully trained and accredited IOANZ installer

• Has completed Site Safe and First Aid Certificate / Assessments  

• Has completed Home Performace Advisor (HPA) Level 1 and HPA Level 2

• Has completed Mitsubishi Electric Heat Pump design

On top of all of this, Craig likes to stay up-to-date with the latest in the industry standards attends BRANZ’s conference each year. Or as he likes to say “I have a passion for helping people make informed decisions through educating them and offering impartial advice on what best suits their needs”.

You can reach Craig via email, Craig.Auty@sustaintrust.org.nz

Jackson Prattley-Jones - a keen hiker who knows a thing or two about theoretical building physics and energy simulations.

Jackson is a South Canterburian at heart. Growing up in Geraldine means that he spent most of his childhood rock climbing, canyoning, skiing, running, and playing sport. It should come as no surprise that he has a great appreciation for native bush and national parks and a need to protect them. In his spare time, Jackson enjoys hiking and exploring unique areas of native bush and wildlife around Aotearoa. He’s obsessed with his guitar and baking bread, two things he got into during lockdown 2020. Jackson has been with the Trust since July 2020.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Has a Bachelor of Building Science, specialising in Sustainable Engineering Systems from VUW, this entailed:

  • studying how a building operates, which included building physics (energy-efficiency, lighting, moisture, insulation, occupancy comfort)

  • sustainability (materials, water, waste, embodied carbon) and structure

  • energy simulations – a digital way to test and quantify different options to reduce energy consumption.

• Has completed HPA Level 1

• Has completed Mitsubishi Electric Heat Pump design

Since joining the Trust, he has taken these theoretical principles and applied them to homes around the Wellington region.

Or as he likes to say “The knowledge I gained from studying has helped me immensely. It’s given me the theoretical background of building science which I now use every day to help people improve the warmth, health and sustainability of their homes”.

You can reach Jackon via email, jackson.prattley-jones@sustaintrust.org.nz

Rob McGhee - self-confessed Yippster, mindful master, craft beer & beard enthusiast and keen home and living sustainability consultant.

Rob grew up in a small market town in South Wales, doing all the usual things you would expect, being outdoors, playing rugby, sneaking into pubs underage and generally getting in and out of trouble. He left for the bright lights of Nottingham to study business. From there took off on a 6-month backpacking trip around the world before returning to begin his professional life in real estate. It took him a few years as a Yuppie to learn that the Yuppie life wasn’t for him. He took off on an OE to Australia where he landed a job carrying out simple home energy assessments and installing energy-efficient showers/lighting in homes for a company called Field Force Environmental. He then returned to the UK, where he got a job for the Energy Savings Trust as a Home Energy Advisor and then went on to do his master’s degree.

While in South Wales he co-founded a sustainable towns initiative in his hometown, Cowbridge, where he ran a community food growing programme and lived/worked on a low impact building/permaculture site.

Rob and his partner moved to NZ in 2017 and after a short stint in Wanaka has been in Wellington ever since.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Has an MSc in Environmental Management from Uni of Wales – Swansea, with a focus on Climate Change and Resilience

• Worked as a Sustainability Consultant on our Your Sustainable Workplace Programme for 3 years & 1 year as a WHESP assessor

• Has completed HPA Level 1

• Has completed Mitsubishi Electric Heat Pump design.

Rob enjoys working for the Trust because he loves being able to bring his ”knowledge and experience of sustainability into people's homes. Not only helping them implement practical steps towards creating a healthier and more sustainable home but also informing them of how their actions can directly help to reduce the effects of climate change”.   

You can reach Rob via email, rob.mcghee@Sustaintrust.org.nz

Karl Wheddon - trained scuba diver, fish tank lover, former hobbit and on a mission to turn his home into a Green Home.

Karl grew up in Farnborough, a place in the UK known for its airshows. So it’s safe to say that flying a spitfire in NZ is on his Bucket List. Many of Karl’s childhood years were spent in the back garden - making veggie patches, exploring wildlife, digging ponds and of course, watching planes.

Naturally, Karl went from loving rock pools as a child scuba diving in the Red Sea, Costa Rica and Africa. Somewhere along the line he studied Ornamental Fish Farming and worked extensively in the industry. In his own words, ‘‘I probably should have been a fish’’. He is an avid Warhammer fan and worked at Weta Workshop making models for Thunderbirds. He’s even had a go on a silver screen as a dwarf on The Hobbit.

Karl and his wife moved here more than a decade ago and calls it home. Nowadays he’s on a mission to turn his 80’s build into a Green Home for his wife and two adorable daughters.

Experience & Qualifications:

• 3 years as a WHESP assessor

• Was at the front of a technical support team for a large German water pump company

• Has completed HPA Level 1 and HPA Level 2

• Certified First Aider

• Mitsubishi Electric Heat Pump design

Since joining the Trust, he has been on a crusade to kerb stomp the causes of asthma. As a one-time sufferer himself, he is driven to improve homes and reduce the number of children suffering from it. He feels that “the house has asthma, and gives it to the children”.

He loves his new EV Leaf along with anything else that uses less energy. I want to ‘‘help people improve their home performance by choosing energy-efficient appliances, home generation from solar, and energy reclaim. I know they will ultimately reduce our carbon footprint. But basics come first, prevention is better than cure. Insulation, draught reduction, reducing moisture at source, good ventilation all have to be addressed first as they are all low hanging fruit’’ says Karl.

You can reach Karl via email, karl.wheddon@sustaintrust.org.nz