Ensure the Efficiency of Your Commercial Building with JV3 Thermal Modelling, Section J Reports and NABERS Ratings in Australia
If your company is in the process of designing or building a new commercial project, then there are several energy efficiency standards that you need to meet. Commercial buildings are complex beasts—projects where efficiency can be gained or lost at any point in the design-build process. At Certified Energy, we are dedicated to making sure that such efficiency losses don’t occur. As one of the largest ESD (Environmental Sustainable Design) companies in Australia, we can provide you with numerous ratings or reports for your commercial building. These include NABERS ratings, JV3 thermal modelling and Section J reports.
Commercial Building Documentation: What You Need to Know
Certified Energy often hears questions from designers or engineers about different standards, what they mean and why they are necessary. These types of questions are our linchpin for any project, be it residential or commercial. However, due to the added size, scope, and complexity of commercial building projects, we tend to hear many questions related to commercial builds.
Below, we’ve provided some simple definitions of the different types of environmental standards that apply to commercial builds. Hopefully, these definitions will help your team understand the expectations that the Australian government is placing on commercial building designers and engineers, as well as why those expectations are important.
- NABERS: NABERS stands for National Australian Built Environmental Rating System. Because buildings use so much energy and have a substantial carbon footprint—especially large commercial buildings—it is important to measure their environmental performance. NABERS exists to provide those measurements. From water usage to energy efficiency and waste management to IEQ (or Indoor Environment Quality), NABERS tests many factors to determine the overall environmental impact of a building. Certified Energy is qualified to provide NABERS ratings in Australia.
- Section J Reports: The Section J report refers to Section J of the National Construction Code, Volume 1. This section provides guidelines and requirements for commercial buildings. All new commercial buildings in Australia need a Section J report on file to prove their compliance. A traditional Section J report looks at the design of a proposed building or development and compares it to the NCC’s DTS (Deemed to Satisfy) provisions.
- JV3 Thermal Modelling: JV3 thermal modelling is not its own type of energy efficiency report. Rather, JV3 is a different way of providing Section J compliance. This method looks not only at the design of the proposed project, but also uses thermal simulations and reference properties to provide a detailed, well-considered assessment. This process is more complex and more expensive than a standard Section J DTS report. However, it can be extremely beneficial for more complex projects, or for situations where your building struggles to meet DTS requirements.
Learn More about NABERS Ratings, JV3, Section J Reports and Other Environmental Matters
If you are in the process of designing or building a commercial development, then it’s important to have a trusted partner who can assist with the environmental compliance side of things. At Certified Energy, we can be that partner. Whether you need a NABERS rating in Australia or don’t know whether to go for Section J reports or JV3 thermal modelling for your building, we can help.
