The H1 Clause sets the minimum energy efficiency requirements for all housing and buildings (under 300sqm) – covering wall, floor and ceiling insulation, as well as the thermal performance of windows and doors. There are major changes to the methodology for calculating R-values resulting in significant changes to the thermal performance requirements across the building envelope, including concrete slab foundations.
RibRaft® HotEdge® in hot demand with new rule changes
Want to know all about H1? Firth has the team, tools and solutions to help.
The update to the New Zealand Building Code Clause H1 5th Edition aims to help make new buildings warmer, drier and healthier, reducing the energy needed to heat them. The changes are the biggest energy efficiency updates to the acceptable solutions and verification methods in more than a decade.
“In terms of the H1 / AS1 changes, the R-value updates may seem minor but the methodology behind the calculation has significantly changed which makes the actual change bigger than it seems,” Wade Hargreaves, Senior Product Manager, Concrete Division, Fletcher Building. “Try our HotEdge R-value Calculator to see the impact of different insulation solutions on foundation thermal performance. Or if you are an architect or engineer looking to save some serious time, try the Wafflesuite cloud-based 3D design calculator, which can be used for all ground types, but is the only software of its kind for TC2 and expansive soil types. It does in minutes what once took hours - and it’s free to use (1x licence per business).”
Meet the Firth RibRaft Foundations Solutions Team – here to help
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Greg Illing
Firth’s foundation solutions
Twenty-five years ago Firth first introduced New Zealand’s most innovative, insulated, durable and efficient pod foundation system - RibRaft®. The robustness of the RibRaft® system, particularly in Canterbury after the devastation of the Christchurch earthquakes, saw the Firth technical team go on to develop the RibRaft EQ® and RibRaft TC3® systems - engineered and developed specifically for seismic soil types.
… RibRaft® X-POD®
Launched in 2018, RibRaft® X-POD® was the next generation of RibRaft® foundations. RibRaft® X-Pods are a more environmentally friendly, polystyrene free solution, made from 100% recycled plastic and are fully recyclable meaning zero landfill waste. They are easily transportable, with a standard 180m2 house lot of X-Pods capable of being delivered on a single axle trailer!
“Where X-Pod slabs really stand out is for polished concrete foundations on TC2 soil types,” says Greg Illing, Firth’s Construction Systems Specialist. “Alternative methods for designing on complex soils usually involve adding more reinforcing like steel fibres to the concrete which, unfortunately can’t be polished. Designing on TC2 soils with Wafflesuite and X-Pod can eliminate the need for steel fibres allowing the concrete to be polished.”
… RibRaft® HotEdge®
Over the years, with the changes to the New Zealand Building Code requiring increased energy efficiency in new homes, the Firth technical team and their industry partners went on to develop the RibRaft® HotEdge® system to help completely close the thermal envelope of buildings….
… and recently HotEdge Extra® and HotEdge Base®were added to the growing list of products in the RibRaft® range.
More about the RibRaft® HotEdge® range
Complementing the current HotEdge® system, used for brick veneer clad homes, HotEdge Extra® is an integrated solution specifically developed to improve the thermal envelope of non-brick veneer cladding systems with RibRaft® or RibRaft X-Pod® foundation systems.
HotEdge Base®, used in conjunction with any other RibRaft product, provides under slab perimeter insulation to achieve incremental thermal performance.
These fully integrated thermal solutions are designed and tested specifically with Firth RibRaft foundation systems and RaftMix concrete to assist in attaining Homestar™ points.