Making buildings more affordable by changing Building Code insulation requirements
Posted: 3 July 2025
The Schedule Method shows exactly how much insulation must be used in different parts of the country to meet Building Code requirements for new buildings. This one-size-fits-all approach can be more expensive than other ways of complying with the Building Code.
Removing the Schedule Method is the first in a number of simple H1 insulation requirement changes aimed at:
- better balancing upfront building costs and longer-term benefits, and
- improving consistency and certainty of compliance and consenting.
Overall Building Code energy efficiency and insulation requirements are staying the same. Our homes and buildings will still be built to those standards.
The Calculation and Modelling methods are 2 other ways of complying with Building Code insulation requirements, and are effective, cheaper and more adaptable to suit each new home. These alternative methods require designers to assess all parts of a building’s energy efficiency and have been found to save up to $15,000 on the cost of a new home. There are a range of user-friendly online tools to help designers calculate energy efficiency using these methods.
The Schedule Method will be removed from the Building Code Acceptable Solutions and Verification Methods for Energy Efficiency by the end of 2025 and designers will have a transition time of 12 months to adjust to the changes.
Announcements about other simple changes to the H1 insulation requirements will be made closer to the time.
MBIE is also looking at treating the Far North as a separate climate zone for Building Code insulation requirements due to its higher average temperatures.
There will be a lot of details to work through before potentially designating it as a separate zone.
The idea of treating the Far North as a separate climate zone was proposed by Northland Mayor Moko Tepania and the Far North District Council during MBIE’s recent H1 energy-efficiency consultation. They argued in their submission that insulation rules in the region were too stringent given the region’s unique climate.