Calls are growing for a change to building regulation to prevent new-build high density housing from overheating in the summer.
Danny Rood has been keeping tabs on how hot his Christchurch townhouse has been getting over December. He said it’s not uncommon for temperatures in his bedroom to exceed 50C.
“It’s getting dangerously hot – a sauna without the fun,” he told 1News.
“We wouldn’t let kids live in these situations. If this was the workplace, we would be sent home – 53C when it’s only 20C outside is frightening.”
He said he fears that temperatures inside his home would continue to climb in the coming months.
“It’s going to hit 60C in here, no doubt.”
Auckland Energy Solutions managing director Ken Johnson said his business has moved from a “winter heating business to a summer cooling business”.
“Each season, we would be expecting to install around a thousand heat pumps across Auckland, and we’d imagine a good third or half of those would be in high density houses.”
Team Green Architects owner Sian Taylor said there were some common themes when it comes to how townhouses are built.
“Often, they’ve got large areas of glazing, they’re several stories high,” she said.
“With our building code, you can’t actually open a window that far if it’s a window that goes all the way to the floor. You can only open it a certain amount.”
She said this would continue to happen unless overheating was considered in terms of the building code.
“One of the key ways to stop that would be to do an energy model of the building before it gets built.”
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said the Government was seeking consultation on a similar kind of modelling being conducted as it looks to update the energy efficiency rules in the building code.
“What we want is a model that says we’ve got the appropriate amount of insulation and ventilation for homes so they don’t overheat in summer any more than we want them to be too cool in winter.”
No decisions will be made until consultation closes at the end of February.
