The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment is seeking feedback on changing the Building Code H1 Energy Efficiency requirements for insulation in homes and other buildings to help building designers and also reduce costs and maintain energy efficiency.

With the Government committed to boosting housing growth by tackling the housing affordability and supply crisis, Mbie is supporting this work by ensuring the Building Code’s regulatory settings are working well so there are no barriers to construction activity and new home ownership.

According to Mbie, it is proposing improvements to the Building Code’s insulation settings covered under clause H1 Energy Efficiency.

“The focus is to look at changes that would allow for more flexibility for building designers and also reduce upfront costs and increase energy efficiency.”

There are currently three methods used to see if a building meets the requirements under the Building Code H1 Energy Efficiency clause, according to Mbie.

The schedule method is a ‘one size fits all’ prescriptive table of insulation values. The calculation method is a semi-flexible range of insulation values that can be ‘mixed and matched’ to suit the design, and the modelling method is a fully flexible insulation design based on computer simulation of energy efficiency.

Mbie wants public feedback to understand whether adjustments to the methods of compliance will reduce upfront costs of buildings and improve cost effectiveness; if any proposed adjustments better balance upfront cost design decisions with long-term cost benefits; if removing the prescriptive schedule method would increase design flexibility; if relaxing requirements in the calculation and modelling methods would increase design flexibility and better enable buildings to be optimised; if building framing ratios need to be adapted to better meet insulation specifications; and if energy loss effects of the framing in walls needs more consideration when calculating insulation specifications.

Mbie also wants to understand the needs of the building design sector to improve the management of internal moisture and overheating risks in buildings.

Consultation is open now and closes 5pm, Friday, February 28. Visit the Mbie website — at: mbie.govt.nz — for the relevant documents and how to give your feedback.