Heat pump installation requirements NZ: consent, electrical sign-off and Healthy Homes

A heat pump install looks like a one-day job with a simple handover, but four separate sets of rules sit under it: the building consent question, the electrical connection, how you handle refrigerant, and, for a rental, the Healthy Homes heating standard. None of them is complicated once you know where the lines are, and getting them wrong tends to surface months later as a landlord dispute or an insurer question. Here is what each one requires of the installer and what to leave on file.

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Does a heat pump install need building consent?

For a standard residential wall-mounted unit, usually not. Auckland Council’s guidance, for example, says that in most cases, especially residential, installing a heat pump does not require a building consent. Treat that as council guidance rather than a rule you can quote, because exemptions have conditions and councils differ. Ducted systems that cut into the structure or alter the building fabric are a different matter and commonly do need consent, so confirm with the local building consent authority before you price one. Two other points. Exempt work must still meet the Building Code, and an exterior wall penetration for the line set is a weathertightness risk, so seal it properly. And a heat pump water heater is plumbing, not space heating: MBIE says a new or additional one needs consent unless it is a like-for-like replacement or a split unit added to an existing cylinder, done by a registered craftsman plumber. Our Schedule 1 summary explains how the exemptions work.

The electrical connection: CoC and ESC come from an electrician

Connecting a heat pump to the mains, including the dedicated circuit and the isolator, is prescribed electrical work, and only a licensed electrical worker can do it. The work is general-risk PEW, so it needs a Certificate of Compliance, and once it is connected the person who connected it issues an Electrical Safety Certificate no later than 20 working days after connection. If you employ an electrician, the certificates are theirs to sign, and if you subcontract the connection, ask for both certificates before you hand the job over so the customer gets copies and your job file has them. The certificates must be kept for seven years. Our electrical certificate guide sets out the categories and deadlines in full.

Refrigerant: what is law, what is industry code

Be careful with the wording on this one, because it is often overstated. The Australia and New Zealand Refrigerant Handling Code of Practice is an industry code: its own scope note says that in New Zealand it does not have mandatory legislative status. It is still the benchmark for how the work should be done, and it asks you to recover refrigerant rather than vent it, record the refrigerant added to a system, avoid topping up a system known to be leaking until the leaks are fixed, and keep a logbook for systems over 3 kg of charge. For flammable refrigerants such as R32 in commercial systems, the Health and Safety at Work (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2017 point to AS/NZS 5149 for charge and containment, but those regulations do not apply to domestic heat pumps and room air conditioners. MBIE has been developing a licensing system for technicians working with hazardous refrigerants, so check its current page rather than relying on an older summary. Whatever the legal position, a clear record of what went in and came out protects you.

Healthy Homes: sizing the heater for a rental

If the house is a rental, the heat pump has to satisfy the heating standard in the Healthy Homes Standards. Tenancy Services states the requirements: one or more fixed heaters that can directly heat the main living room, of at least 1.5 kW heating capacity, meeting the minimum heating capacity the room needs. The main living room is the largest room used for everyday living, and spaces that cannot be closed off from it, such as an open-plan kitchen or a hallway, count as part of it. A heat pump or electric heater must have a thermostat. You cannot use an electric heater (a heat pump is the exception) where the required capacity is over 2.4 kW, other than to top up qualifying heating installed before 1 July 2019, and the top-up itself must be 2.4 kW or less. Open fires and unflued combustion heaters, such as portable LPG heaters, do not count. The required capacity comes from the Tenancy Services heating assessment tool, the formula in the regulations, or a professional assessment, and it depends on the room size, insulation and climate. Landlords who do not comply are in breach of the Residential Tenancies Act, with financial penalties of up to $7,200.

Record the inputs: room dimensions, glazing, insulation and the kW result the tool gave.
Size from the datasheet: check the chosen model’s published heating capacity against the required figure, not the model name.
Leave a copy: the landlord needs the evidence for their compliance statement.

What to leave on file at handover

A good heat pump job file is short. It holds the model and serial numbers, the refrigerant type and charge (including any additional charge for a long line set), the commissioning notes, the electrical CoC and ESC, the Healthy Homes sizing record for a rental, and the manufacturer’s warranty terms. Many manufacturers’ warranties expect the unit to be serviced regularly, and annually is common, so note the service interval against the warranty rather than promising one in general. Keep your own copy for as long as you would want to rely on it: the electrical certificates have a seven-year retention rule, and the rest is cheap to store alongside them. For rentals, see also our Healthy Homes heating standard guide and the Healthy Homes calculator.

How Toolie handles the heat pump job

Toolie’s HVAC pack has a heat pump install takeoff that prices the indoor and outdoor units by size class, line set, condensate drain, isolator and commissioning. It also takes the rental living-room inputs (floor area, ceiling height, council, wall and window areas and the R-values of the ceiling, floor, walls and windows) and works out the required heating capacity from Schedule 2 of the Healthy Homes regulations, showing it as an advisory line on the quote with a prompt to check the unit’s datasheet. It is not priced, and no R-value is assumed where none is published. The job lists the electrical CoC and ESC it needs, so you do not forget to chase them, and a refrigerant register keeps one record per unit: refrigerant and charge, a log of what was added and recovered, a flag on any top-up, and the next service or leak check due. Toolie is not a substitute for the Tenancy Services tool if a landlord asks for it by name, so it is worth running both for a borderline room.

Sources

Official sources this guide relies on. Rules change, so check the current version before relying on a date or threshold.

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Common questions

Do I need building consent to install a heat pump in NZ?

Usually not for a standard residential wall-mounted unit, according to council guidance such as Auckland Council’s, but check with the local council. Ducted systems that alter the building structure or fabric commonly do need consent, and exempt work must still meet the Building Code.

Who can connect a heat pump to the power supply?

A licensed electrical worker. The connection is prescribed electrical work, so it needs a Certificate of Compliance and an Electrical Safety Certificate, with the ESC issued no later than 20 working days after connection.

What heating capacity does a rental need under the Healthy Homes Standards?

At least 1.5 kW, and enough to meet the minimum heating capacity required for the main living room. The required figure comes from the Tenancy Services heating assessment tool, the formula in the regulations, or a professional assessment, and depends on room size, insulation and climate.

Can an electric heater be used to meet the Healthy Homes heating standard?

Only if the required capacity is 2.4 kW or less, or as a 2.4 kW or smaller top-up to qualifying heating installed before 1 July 2019. Where the required capacity is over 2.4 kW, a heat pump is the exception to the electric-heater limit, and any heat pump or electric heater must have a thermostat.

Is there a licence required to handle heat pump refrigerant in NZ?

The Australia and New Zealand Refrigerant Handling Code of Practice is an industry code without mandatory legislative status in New Zealand, but it sets the expected practice of recovering and recording refrigerant. MBIE has been developing licensing for technicians working with hazardous refrigerants, so check its current guidance.

Can Toolie remind a customer their heat pump service is due?

Yes. When a unit's service or leak check comes due in the refrigerant register, it shows under Services due. Remind customer emails or texts them, and Book job creates the visit; completing that job logs the service and sets the next due date. You press the button each time, it does not send on its own.

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