Using H1 Assist

Do I need to upload my full construction plans?

Yes, the plan set is required to save a project. It’s kept as the reference for what was calculated. But H1 Assist’s tools doesn’t measure from drawings: the calculation runs from your tables (walls, roof/ceiling, floors, windows and doors, insulation), which you can enter by hand or upload as our Excel template, a CAD/BIM export, plans with the tables printed on them, or a prior H1 report. If you’d rather not prepare the tables, use Concierge (below) in which case the plans and other supporting documents will be sent to a professional QS to process.

Does AI read my uploaded plans and documents?

Not when you use H1 Assist yourself. Every check runs inside the app: the same deterministic software every time, reading only the tables and text you’ve given it, and nothing you upload is sent to an AI tool. Concierge is different: if you request it, your plans go to our professional QS partner, whose measuring software includes AI-assisted processing. Under our agreement, neither they nor their software providers may use your plans to train AI models, add them to datasets, or keep them beyond the job.

Does H1 Assist measure or guess anything off my drawings?

No. It reads figures that are already printed (a number in a table, a size on a schedule) and never estimates a size from a drawing. Anything it can’t find is shown as “Unknown”, not guessed. If you’d like your plans measured for you, that’s what Concierge is for: a professional QS measures them.

Who can see the projects I upload?

Your own organisation: the principal and any team members you’ve invited. Our admin team can also see projects when they need to help you or process a Concierge request. For Concierge jobs, our QS partner sees the plans for that job only. Projects never cross between customers.

What happens if some information is missing?

The project stays marked “Incomplete”, not PASS or FAIL. H1 Assist needs walls, roof/ceiling, floors, windows and doors, a climate zone, a known area for every row and insulation for every element before it shows a verdict. The Incomplete note lists exactly what’s still needed. You’ll never see a result that’s quietly missing part of the building.

What if I don't have a window & door schedule?

If the schedule is printed on your plans, upload that plan set in slot 2 (“Plans including construction area tables”). If it’s a separate document, upload it in slot 7. H1 Assist matches tags like “W1” or “D3” to the sizes on the schedule. It’s a best-effort read, so check it against the real schedule. Otherwise, enter windows and doors by hand, or use Concierge.

What's the difference between VERIFY, RECOMMEND and OPTIMISE?

VERIFY checks insulation you’ve already chosen against H1 and returns PASS or FAIL.

RECOMMEND searches the Eliment glasswool range for the most cost-effective combination that passes when nothing’s been chosen yet.

OPTIMISE keeps everything you’ve entered, including your own edits, and re-searches your walls and roof/ceiling for a more cost-effective option. All three use the same calculation engine, with no AI in any of them.

Is H1 Assist tied to selling Eliment insulation?

RECOMMEND and OPTIMISE search the Eliment range first, and only reach for a non-Eliment product when nothing in the Eliment range passes on its own. Any non-Eliment result is labelled clearly, so it's never mistaken for a house-brand pick. H1 Assist is funded and supported by Enveloped Solutions Limited, which distributes Eliment insulation and other insulation brands, so the tool is built to favour those ranges.

Will my result change if H1 Assist engine is updated?

No. A saved project keeps the calculation edition and product data it was created with (shown as “Calculation edition” on the project), so later improvements or product changes can’t quietly turn a PASS into a FAIL. To use the latest calculations and products, clone the project. You can also lock a project down once it’s been submitted to Council.

What does “Mark as submitted to Council” do?

It locks the project and keeps its documents exactly as they were submitted, so you can always download what Council received. To make changes, for example after a Council request for information, clone it and work on the copy.

Where is my data stored and is it secure?

H1 Assist runs on Vercel. Your tables and results are held in a Postgres database (via Neon), and uploaded files such as plans, specifications and logos are in Vercel Blob. Every file is in private storage with no public URL, and can only be retrieved through H1 Assist’s own authenticated server. Files and database records are encrypted at rest with AES-256, and every connection runs over TLS-encrypted HTTPS. Card payments are handled by Stripe, so your card details never reach H1 Assist. For Concierge jobs, our QS partner stores the plans in Google Cloud’s Sydney data centre (Australia), encrypted in transit and at rest, and deletes them on request or when our agreement ends. New organisations are reviewed before they get access. We don’t claim our own certification, but the infrastructure underneath H1 Assist runs on providers independently audited to SOC 2 and ISO 27001 standards.

Does H1 Assist use my plans or project data to train AI?

No. Your plans, tables and project data are never used to train an AI model or added to a dataset without your express written permission. That includes Concierge jobs: our QS partner and their software providers are contractually barred from it. Some other H1 tools allow this by default once you start using them, so check their terms and conditions carefully.

Can I start from someone else’s H1 calculation?

Yes. Upload a prior H1 report in slot 3, and H1 Assist uses its figures as written. Check the areas carefully first, because supplier calculations aren’t always prepared to H1 definitions, and we’ve seen some very inaccurate ‘free’ reports prepared for designers. Wall areas should be net of windows and doors, and an unconditioned garage’s outside walls and slab should be left out. Overstated wall areas for example aren’t a safe error: it makes the reference building easier to beat, so a design can pass on paper and fail once measured properly. If in doubt, Concierge will have the plans professionally measured.

Concierge

What is Concierge?

We organise for the H1 to be completed for you, properly. Upload your plans to a saved project and request Concierge. A professional QS measures them, we enter everything into H1 Assist and run the calculation, and the completed project comes back to your account. It’s ideal if you’d rather not export tables from your CAD software.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

$150 + GST per single dwelling up to 300 m², one or two storeys, with a target of 5 working days. Priority is an extra $75 + GST, with a target of 2 working days. Turnarounds are targets from a complete plan set, not guarantees. Multi-unit, larger or three-storey plans are quoted first, and you accept a quote by paying it. You pay by card when you request (you receive a GST receipt).

What happens to my project while it’s with Concierge?

It’s locked so it can’t change while it’s being measured. You can still view it and download its documents, or clone it to keep working on a copy. An unpaid quote request can be withdrawn, which unlocks the project.

What do I get back?

Your project, returned to your account with everything that can be read is entered. Before your H1 report, specification and site checklist unlock, you review what we entered and accept it, or fill in any missing gaps. You stay responsible for the H1 compliance of your design. The returned project is kept read-only as a permanent record of what we delivered; clone it to make changes.

What if your QS can’t measure my plans?

If the plans are incomplete or can’t be measured, we decline the request with the reason, refund your payment in full (or give back your coupon), and unlock the project. Once you have the suitable documents you can lodge it again.

Understanding H1

Why did H1 change, and what's different under the current edition?

H1/AS1’s 6th edition took effect on 27 November 2025, with a 12-month transition that ends on 26 November 2026. The biggest change is that the schedule method (the old fixed-R-value tick-box table) has been removed, leaving the calculation method as the path to compliance under AS1. The 6th edition also brings clearer measurement rules, with areas measured using overall internal dimensions. H1 Assist is built around the calculation method, so a project run through it today already follows the 6th edition.

What's the difference between the calculation method and the schedule method?

The schedule method checked each element — wall, roof, floor, window — against its own fixed minimum R-value, with no flexibility between them. The calculation method instead compares your whole building's total heat loss against a code-compliant reference building of the same shape and size, so a weaker point, a large glazed wall or a slab with less underfloor insulation, can be offset by extra insulation elsewhere. It's more flexible, but every element has to be modelled together rather than ticked off one at a time, which is exactly what H1 Assist's segment-by-segment entry is built around.

How do climate zones affect the numbers I need to hit?

New Zealand is split into six H1 climate zones, from the warmest in the north to the coldest in the south and inland high country. The colder the zone, the higher the reference building’s R-values, so the same design can pass in Zone 1 and fail in Zone 6. H1 Assist sets your zone automatically from your project’s council, which it finds from the site address, so you never have to look up reference values yourself.

How much glazing can I use before it starts working against me?

The reference building assumes glazing equal to 30% of the gross wall area. Below that, your glazing is less than the reference allows. Above it, every extra square metre of glass has to be made up by better glazing or more insulation elsewhere. H1 Assist shows your glazing percentage against the 40% limit for this method. If your design leans heavily on glass, check the percentage early, because it can drive both your compliance and your insulation spec.

Does H1/AS1 apply to my project, or do I need H1/AS2?

H1/AS1 covers housing of any size, plus non-housing buildings up to 300 m². H1/AS2 only comes into play for buildings that are not housing and are over 300 m² — a large house, however big, still sits under AS1. H1 Assist asks which standard applies when you create a project, so this isn't something you need to work out yourself first.