Saving $10,000 Per Block by Optimising Glazing 

Glazing is where H1 budgets quietly blow out. A Christchurch developer came to us with two blocks glazed at 38% and 39%, and at that level compliance was going to cost real money. Here's the mechanism: the more glass you put in an elevation, the more heat the building loses, so you have to make up the shortfall elsewhere - usually with expensive under slab and edge slab insulation.

We looked at where the glazing actually sat and how each element fed into the H1 calculation. Then we suggested small reductions across skylights, ranch sliders, and windows on each block. Those cuts were minor enough that the design and aesthetics stayed intact, but they changed the numbers enough to let the developer pull back on other insulation the higher glazing demanded.

The result was a saving of $10,000 per block, with no compromise to the look of the development. Trim the glazing before you consent, and you stop paying to insulate your way out of a design decision.