As leaders and experts in building performance solutions, Comfortech® is at the forefront of helping the industry successfully meet today’s challenges, including those presented to address the building for climate change agenda and H1 building code changes.

MBIE has introduced the new 5th edition of H1/AS1 and H1/VM1 for housing and H1/AS2 or H1/VM2 for buildings greater than 300 m². This aims to reduce the energy needed for heating and cooling of 23% on average across large new buildings over previous minimum status quo requirements.

Traditionally, the thermal performance of commercial buildings in New Zealand has been minimal and a large emphasis has been placed on conditioning load to maintain an acceptable internal environment. The November 2022 changes to H1/AS2 have moved the dial considerably and are a positive step towards reducing our embodied and in use carbon in commercial construction.

The move away from a prescriptive code to a performance based one opens the opportunity for a more nuanced solution, helping to balance the building elements to deliver the best overall performance and energy profile for the building users and the environment.

When navigating the H1 building code changes, Comfortech has plenty of advice and support to offer, as well as a comprehensive range of solutions, including Pink Batts insulation for thermal and acoustic performance, Rockwool for non-combustible insulation behind external cladding systems, Foamular Extruded Polystyrene for underfloor and Kingspan Kooltherm for high performance solutions in commercial walls, soffits, and ceilings.

Comfortech has also recently launched ‘Comfortech Kooltherm Insulated Plasterboard’; a continuous high-performance insulation that eliminates thermal bridging while delivering a very high R-value for thickness. For example, the 60mm thickness board achieves an R2.6, with a surface ready for stopping and painting.

Changes to H1 VM3, which affects pipe lagging and ducting is also a design challenge for the commercial sector. Comfortech offers a range of insulation solutions, including Armaflex and Kooltherm pipe lagging and polyester and glass wool duct insulation to ensure compliance that meets the targeted 23% reduction in the energy required to service and condition commercial spaces.

Not only does Comfortech offer plenty of technical advice and support, Comfortech have also collaborated with H1 modelling partner Speckel to ensure the best performance and compliance outcomes.