The New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) released its 2026 Manifesto this week, calling on government and industry to accelerate energy efficiency upgrades across New Zealand's homes and commercial buildings. For tradies in insulation, heat pumps, electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, the timing could not be better — and the opportunity is significant.
Here's what the manifesto signals, which trades are best placed to benefit, and how to position your business to win more work over the next 12–18 months.
What the NZGBC 2026 Manifesto Actually Says
The Green Building Council's manifesto focuses on three core themes: reducing energy waste in buildings, lowering household and business energy costs, and improving New Zealand's energy security. It calls for stronger minimum efficiency standards in new builds, accelerated retrofits of existing housing stock, and expanded government support for energy upgrades.
The NZGBC works closely with MBIE (Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment), which oversees New Zealand's building code and energy performance requirements. The manifesto signals a policy direction that will likely show up in future building consent requirements, Healthy Homes compliance obligations, and potentially new retrofit subsidy schemes.
For tradies, that translates directly into demand. When standards rise, someone has to do the work.
The H1 Building Code Change Is Already Live
Before looking ahead, it's worth noting that an important energy efficiency change is already in effect. New editions of H1 (energy efficiency) AS1, AS2, VM1 and VM2 took effect on 27 November 2025, with a 12-month transition period running until 26 November 2026. H1 governs the thermal envelope of buildings — insulation levels, window glazing performance, and airtightness requirements.
If you're working on new residential builds or consented alterations, you may already be quoting jobs that require higher insulation R-values than a few years ago. Make sure your quotes reflect current H1 requirements — underselling the insulation spec on a new build can leave you on the hook for non-compliance. Use the H1 insulation calculator to check required R-values by climate zone and building element.
Which Trades Have the Most to Gain
Insulation Installers
Demand for insulation is strong and growing. The combination of H1 upgrades on new builds, ongoing Healthy Homes rental compliance (still being enforced across the country), and an ageing housing stock that's badly under-insulated means insulation work is unlikely to slow down. Winter is peak season — landlords rush to comply before tenants lodge complaints, and homeowners notice cold draughts.
Average installed cost for ceiling and underfloor insulation in a standard NZ home ranges from $2,500 to $5,500 depending on access and product type. Retrofit wall insulation runs $4,000–$9,000. With margins typically 35–45% on materials, it's solid, repeatable work. The insulation calculator can help you estimate material quantities and quote accurately.
Heat Pump and HVAC Installers
Heat pumps are New Zealand's dominant home heating choice, and the NZGBC manifesto explicitly calls out electrification of heating as a priority. For registered heat pump installers, this means a multi-year pipeline of work as older resistive heaters and gas appliances are replaced.
A standard single-split residential heat pump installation runs $2,800–$4,500 all-in (supply and install), while multi-split systems go $6,000–$14,000 depending on zones. Commercial HVAC upgrades are larger ticket items again. Use the heat pump sizing calculator to spec jobs correctly — an undersized unit is the most common complaint that leads to callbacks and reputation damage.
Electricians
Solar panel installation, EV charger fitting, and heat pump electrical connections are all growing lines of work for electricians. The solar market in particular has strengthened in 2026 as grid electricity prices have remained elevated. A residential solar system (6.6kW) typically earns an electrician $2,500–$4,000 in labour for the DC/AC installation, inverter wiring, and grid connection paperwork. The solar savings calculator is a useful tool to share with homeowners who are sitting on the fence — running the numbers in front of them often closes the sale.
Plumbers
Hot water accounts for roughly 30% of household energy use in New Zealand. Heat pump hot water cylinders are the obvious replacement for old electric storage cylinders, and the NZGBC manifesto specifically targets hot water efficiency. A hot water heat pump installation (supply and install) runs $3,500–$6,000 for a standard residential job, with good margins on the unit itself.
Positioning Your Business for This Work
Get the credentials first. To install heat pumps you must hold a Refrigerant Handling Licence issued by WorkSafe NZ. For solar, your electrical inspector needs to be a registered Electrical Inspector. MBIE's LBP licence is needed for any restricted building work. Customers increasingly check credentials before booking — make sure yours are visible on your website and quotes.
Price it properly. Energy efficiency work often attracts customers who've done their research online — and they'll have ballpark figures in their heads. Don't underprice to win the job. Calculate your real hourly rate (including vehicle, insurance, ACC, and admin time) using the hourly rate calculator to make sure you're quoting sustainably.
Use a job management app. Energy efficiency jobs often involve multiple site visits — measure-up, install, inspection, commissioning. Without a proper system, it's easy to miss billable time. Fastcrew is a NZ-built tradie app that handles scheduling, job notes, time tracking, and invoicing from your phone. It's built for exactly this kind of multi-stage residential work.
Target landlords directly. With Healthy Homes standards enforcement ongoing, landlords with rental portfolios need insulation, heat pumps, and ventilation across multiple properties. One good relationship with a property manager can feed you a consistent stream of work. Send a one-page compliance checklist and price guide — it positions you as the expert and makes it easy for them to book.
The IRD Angle
If you're investing in new equipment to service this work — a van, a heat pump vacuum pump, manifold gauges, or solar installation gear — don't forget the Investment Boost deduction introduced in May 2025. You can claim a one-off 20% deduction on top of normal depreciation for most new business assets purchased after 22 May 2025. On a $15,000 equipment purchase, that's an extra $3,000 deduction in year one.
Keep records of all tool and equipment purchases. IRD's low-value asset threshold allows full write-off in year one for any single item under $1,000 (ex GST).
What to Do This Month
The NZGBC manifesto signals a policy direction, not an immediate flood of work — but the tradies who move now will be best placed when government incentives or tighter standards arrive. This month:
- Review your H1 compliance knowledge — if you're doing new builds, you need to know the current R-value requirements
- Check your credentials and certifications are current with WorkSafe and MBIE
- Update your quoting templates to properly cost energy efficiency jobs
- Consider reaching out to local property managers with a Healthy Homes services package
Download our free NZ tradie templates at tradietools.nz/templates/ — including quote templates, Healthy Homes checklists, and job cost trackers designed for NZ tradies.
NZ Tradie Tools provides free calculators, templates and guides for New Zealand tradies. Visit tradietools.nz.