Chris Penk: Building and Construction Minister on the Government overhauling insulation regulations to cut costs

The Building and Construction Minister is backing scaling back some insulation standards.

The Government's called the changes 'common sense' - with building costs rising more than 40 percent since 2019.

It's expected building code insulation requirements will be relaxed by the year's end.

Chris Penk says they add huge costs.

"Depending on where you are in the country or depending on what the conditions are or which way your house faces, you don't need all of that, you just need some of that. So as long as we can get to the same good overall result without being so prescriptive, then there's money to be saved and houses to be built."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Building and Construction Minister, is finally pulling the trigger
on his insulation reform. The insulation requirements in the building
Code are going to be made more flexible by the
end of the year. The Minister reckons it'll save the
cost of the average new build buy up to maybe
fifteen thousand dollars. Chris penk is the Building and Construction Minister,
and with us, Hey, Chris, hey, that, how are you so?
And well, thank you so explain to me how this

(00:20):
would work. Right at the moment, we have like a
standard one size fits all for houses. But you're going
to make this more flexible.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Yeah, that's right.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
We've got what we call the schedule method, which sets
out in a very prescriptive way all the different parts
of the building that need to be insulated or double
glazed in a certain way. And that adds a huge
amount of cost because in some cases, depending on where
you are in the country, or depending on what the
conditions are or which way you house faces, you don't
need all of that, you just need some of that.
So as long as we can get to the same

(00:49):
good overall result without being so prescriptive, in these money
to be saved and homes to be built.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
So one of the examples that you used was if
you change the size of the window, it will affect
how much insulation you need. Run me through that.

Speaker 3 (01:02):
Yeah, well, I mean windows are the most vulnerable part
of the house. You can imagine they leak more hot
air or cool air, as the case may be. Then
you know walls and even doors, so you know, changing
that design element will significantly affect how much insulation you
need to have in the walls, or whether a concrete
slab will make any difference, and so on. So the

(01:23):
idea is a bit of give and take and what
are called the calculation or modeling methods. Mean, if you
want bigger windows, that's fine, you might need a bit
more insulation.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
You've got smaller windows, you might need a bit less.
So it's about not having.

Speaker 3 (01:35):
A one size fits all because when you're that prescriptive,
that's when all the additional costs comes in.

Speaker 2 (01:39):
That's what we're trying to get away from.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
And the orientation the house. So what if you're north facing,
less insulation.

Speaker 3 (01:45):
Well you get more suns so you know, it depends.
Of course, that's the point about insulation is that it
keeps you warmer if these.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
Womths inside the house, because get less leakage.

Speaker 3 (01:54):
But also of course you've got to think about the
way that sunlight can come in and cause more heat.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
So there's a you know, reflective glass called LOWI.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
So there's lots of different factors and I'm not going
to successfully describe them all, but suffice to say the
design and location, including the location in New Zealand by
the way, Northland being quite different from Southland.

Speaker 2 (02:12):
Yeah, all max effector so if.

Speaker 3 (02:13):
We allow all those to be taken into account and
don't go down the prescriptive path in again, as I say,
you'll get a you actually get a better result in
terms of terms.

Speaker 1 (02:21):
Of the Don't we already have zones Chris Like, don't
we have zones that that's specified that if you're further
south you need to build build a sturdier house.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
To some extent.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
But but there isn't, for example, a special zone for
Northland and that takes into account the difference you know,
how warm they are. So we've actually said as well
that we're looking at and I've asked MB to look
at establishing a whole new separate one for Northland because
up here where I am actually now with our excellent
local MP, Grant McCallum. There's both both, you know, the

(02:52):
lesser requirement for intilation against cold, but actually also the
cost of building is huge and that's obviously a massive
effect for the communities.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
And I was actually talking to Grant just before when
he said that he was with you.

Speaker 3 (03:03):
What are you two up to visiting a number of
small businesses and manufacturing outfits up here.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
Actually that's a different minister that I wear. So a
lot going on up here, but have lots of challenges
and opportunities.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Hey, I have one more question about this though, So
how does this interact what you're doing with new builds?
How does that interact with rentals and healthy home standards?
If you change the standards for new builds, do you
need to change the standards for healthy homes?

Speaker 3 (03:25):
No, technically separate. So actually, and I mean there's a
bit crazy. The systems don't talk to each other. But
as off who you describe on your show in the
last couple of days, many of us are living in
homes quite happily that we wouldn't be able to rent
out there. Yeah, circumstances were different. So it's actually a
different thing because you know, that's a provision of a
heat punt as opposed to heaters and so on, whereas
this is just the insulation or energy efficiency.

Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yeah cool, Hey, thank you very much, Chris appreciated. Chris
Pink Building and Construction Minister. For more from Heather Duplessy
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