7-Star NatHERS Rating For (Most) New Homes From Late 2023

Solar panels will become an even more common inclusion on new Australian homes from next year as a result of the re-jiggered National Construction Code (NCC).

The Code sets the minimum required level of performance for the safety, health, amenity, accessibility and sustainability of certain buildings. When NCC 2022 fully kicks in, new residential dwellings will need to achieve the equivalent of 7-stars Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) thermal performance.

Across much of Australia, 6-star equivalence is the current minimum requirement – and it’s been that way for more than a decade. 6-stars indicates good, but not outstanding, performance. And “good” is in the eye of the beholder, with some still describing Australian homes built to this requirement as glorified tents. The 7-star requirement will be a step up.

Developed over 3 years by the Australian Building Codes Board, ABCB worked with State/Territory building ministers and other stakeholders to get the new 7-star requirement over the line – for the most part.

“These reforms will deliver cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades that will improve the comfort and health of occupants throughout the year,” said Glenys Beauchamp, Chair of the ABCB. “With lower energy use, we’ll also see lower new household energy bills and lower emissions.”

Solar Panels And Whole Of Home Rating

As well as the minimum 7-star requirement for new houses and apartments, a new annual energy use budget will apply contributing to a new Whole of Home rating.

This will take into account energy used for heating and cooling, and major appliances used in the home; minus energy generated by a solar power system. This could be considered both a good and not-so-good thing – with solar panels covering up for other energy efficiency issues perhaps easily and cheaply avoided.

Timeline For Implementation

• A preview of the new requirements will be published on 1 September 2022 and available for download from the National Construction Code web site.
• The full NCC 2022 will be published on 1 October 2022.
• States and Territories will bring the majority of NCC 2022 into full effect from 1 May 2023.
• Energy efficiency requirement to commence on 1 October 2023.

From what I can tell at this point, most states/territories appear to be on-board with the timeline. However, Tasmania is baulking at the final implementation date.

“We will be deferring consideration of the compulsory 7-star energy efficiency rating until the next iteration of the NCC in 2025, which will give us the time we need to ensure any changes do not negatively impact our State and the supply of new homes,” said Elise Archer, Tasmanian Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs.

… and not everyone is happy with the changes, given the extra costs involved.

NatHERS Not Perfect

The NatHERS system also certainly isn’t infallible to stupid and easily avoided design mistakes.

I had a house built in 2017 (so, under 6-star requirements), with a large window in a room where it really shouldn’t have been. It’s been a real “doh” feature of the house during summer mornings that both the builder and I should have realised at design stage. I’ve been regretting it ever since. It was other features of the house such as low-E glass and beefed up insulation that saw it achieve a 6-star NatHERS rating.

Hopefully there will be less of this sort of thing possible under NCC 2022.

Next NCC To Have Special EV Focus

The ABCB already has its sights set on the next iteration of the NCC, which includes provisions to make installing Distributed Energy Resources (DER) such as solar panel systems, battery storage and bi-directional charging for electric vehicles easier.

“We’ll have a special focus on ensuring our buildings are ready to make EV charging safe and easy,” said ABCB CEO Gary Rake. “We know the demand for electric vehicles is going to continue to increase, especially as households and businesses prioritise use of electricity and renewables.”

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/nathers-ratings-homes-mb2611/