We look at each state and find out what is required of owners and Builders Melbourne and Draftsperson.
New South Wales
The NSW program is the Building Sustainability Index, or BASIX. BASIX is an online tool which calculates the energy and water efficiency of a new home design. You need to get a BASIX Certificate to get planning approval. For your home Sustainable house design.
The questions relate to:
The size of the house and its orientation. The building materials to use Whether a rainwater tank will installed Water fittings. Including taps, toilets and showerheads. How many windows and where they are in relation to the sun Choice of hot water system. How the house will kept warm and cool with insulation
The BASIX tool then evaluates your answers and provides scores. To get a BASIX certificate your house must:
Changing sustainable housing laws Score 25 or more for energy Score 40 or more for water* Achieve a pass for thermal comfort * The BASIX water target varies across the state, depending on the climate. The eastern areas have a water target of 40.
BASIX is flexible in that there are a few ways you can achieve the target. For example, you may not always need to have a rainwater tank to get your water target. In some areas installing AAA plus showerheads, toilets. And tap fittings will be enough to get you over the line.
BASIX introduced for single dwellings and dual occupancies in the Sydney area on 1 July 2004. The rest of NSW on 1 July 2005 and for all residential dwellings including low. And high-rise apartments on 1 October 2005.
In July 2006, BASIX became a need of all residential additions and alterations in NSW. And the energy target increased to 40.
Victoria
The Victorian program called 5 Star, and stipulates, , a 5 star energy need for all new homes.
Besides to achieving this rating for the building fabric. 5 Star also requires either a water tank that must supply water to all toilet cisterns, or a solar hot water system. Where there reticulated gas the solar hot water system must be gas boosted.
5 Star implemented on July 1, 2004. For the first 12 months a transitional period existed. Changing sustainable housing laws Where 4 Stars for the fabric could achieved with the addition of either a water tank or a solar hot water system.
This transitional period has extended until April 30, 2006 for homes. With a suspended timber floor or of earthwall construction.
The 5 Star verification method requires the design to assessed by a person. Accredited in the use of energy rating software. The approved programs for Victoria are FirstRate and NatHERS. The energy report will form part of the required documentation for building permit approval. As an alternative to using software packages, in the case of the 4 Star plus option. The Building Code of Australia (BCA) energy efficiency provisions can used.
For apartments, an average 5 Star rating required for the whole building. And each sole occupancy dwelling must achieve a rating of at least 3 Stars. There is no need to install a water tank or solar hot water system in an apartment building.
As well as the energy provisions there are water conservation requirements. For Victoria through the plumbing regulations. The regulations must pressure reduction. That will restrict water pressure to a building. And also flow restriction to shower heads and taps.
There is some discussion about a move to 6 Star, but nothing has agreed on yet.
Australian Capital Territory
The ACT’s program called ACTHERS, and based on NatHERS. The smallest rating is 4 stars, assessed using FirstRate, and based on these design factors:
Orientation Insulation Air leakage Design features Floor type Zoning Glazing Thermal mass Width of eaves Cross ventilation Common walls If the rating is acceptable, an Energy Efficiency Rating Statement (EER) issued.
, a valid EER required for new house designs as well as the sale of an existing house.
In line with changes to the BCA, the ACT will move to a 5 star smallest for all residential designs on May 1, 2006. The ACT Government is also considering adopting the NSW BASIX system, although this is unlikely to occur until late 2006 at the earliest.
The BCA states
Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory use the Building Code of Australia’s energy efficiency provisions, which came into effect on January 1, 2003 (September 1, 2003 in Queensland).
The BCA calls for a smallest energy rating for new houses of 4 stars, which based on the design and construction materials used in a new home. Changing sustainable housing laws This includes requirements for:
Roof and wall insulation Eaves and other shading Glazing and high performing windows Natural ventilation The BCA allows for assessment either through a ‘deemed to meet’ method which specifies the construction materials needed to achieve the home’s energy efficiency rating. Otherwise computer software such as FirstRate and NatHERS can used. These give more flexibility in mixing materials and design options.
Some states have slight variations in the deemed to meet requirements, while others are looking at adopting their own programs which rate energy and water, such as BASIX.
Although the above states have developed stricter regulations beyond the BCA, Changing sustainable housing laws all states represented on the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB), which manages the BCA.
This means that the ABCB is looking at revamping energy efficiency regulations to become stricter and standard across Australia.
In 2006, the proposed changes to the BCA will increase the energy efficiency requirements for homes to 5 stars, but the changeover date hasn’t finalised.
Queensland
Queensland’s Sustainable Housing initiative has proposed more requirements beyond the BCA. These new requirements will need all new houses to have:
Greenhouse-efficient hot water systems Energy efficient lighting AAA-rated shower roses Dual-flush toilets Water pressure-limiting devices Rainwater tanks (not required by all councils) In units and apartments, the standard will must:
Energy efficient lighting AAA-rated shower roses Dual-flush toilets The standard also affects bathroom renovations, requiring:
AAA-rated shower roses Dual-flush toilets The new standard will come into effect on 1 March, 2006 with a second stage of changes opening for discussion some time after that.
South Australia
South Australia has no plans to develop their own standard, so will be sticking with the BCA. Though the SA Housing Code also regulates sealing capacity, air movement, hot water services, and where external glazing and/or shading required.
Furthermore, roofs, external walls and suspended floors must achieve a smallest total thermal resistance.
The most common form of appraisal for builders in South Australia is the BCA’s deemed to satisfy.
The 4 star minimum is to become a 5 star smallest on July 1, 2006, and from that date all new homes and homes undergoing major renovation must have a plumbed rainwater tank. Tanks must be 1000 litres and plumbed into a toilet or laundry.
Western Australia
Although it is looking at BASIX, Western Australia will probably stick with the BCA and its more stringent guidelines next year.
Also omit water efficiency, dual flush toilets have been mandatory for many years through the state’s plumbing regulations.
For approvals, WA is reviewing AccuRate, the successor to NatHERS.
In 2006, the proposed changes to the BCA will increase the energy efficiency requirements for homes to 5 stars, but the changeover date hasn’t finalised.
Tasmania
Tasmania has no plans to move away from the BCA. For assessment, Tasmania uses only the deemed to please method and does not provide the option of using a computer generated model to assess the design.
DTC allows the builder to submit a design that meets a set of smallest criteria. The assessor will ask questions such as ‘Does it have insulation of 3.5 in the roof?’, ‘Does it have insulation of 0.5 in the walls?” and ‘Does it have insulation of hot water pipes?’.
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory government is contemplating the adoption of the BCA 2006 5 star energy efficiency requirements. Also if adopted, the NT government undecided about what method of assessment they will use but currently the preference is for deemed to meet BCA provisions.
This is a result of the difficulties that experienced in applying the NatHERS computer model in tropical Australia due to an issue with natural ventilation in the tropics. Also the updated version of the NatHERS model, AccuRate, is currently undergoing practical testing.
*article by curtis cooper from realestate.com.au 15.03.2010
