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Energy Rating Consultant
You might be in a hurry when you are looking for an energy rating consultant for your NatHERS. But be aware of choosing...
ESD is one of the fastest growing building services in Australia. Our assessors and ESD consultants are seasoned degree qualified building professionals, constantly staying up to date with legislation changes so you don’t have to. Learn more about our assessment processes below, or contact us to request a quote.
Our NatHERS Thermal Performance Assessment involves the thermal modelling of each individual room in a house to determine the forecast heating and cooling loads. This is benchmarked against a Thermal Comfort index to determine a unique star rating for your project and HERS House Energy Rating Scheme certificates can be generated for your project.
VURB Verification Using a Reference Building, is an Energy Efficiency minimum performance standard that does not use an energy star rating like NatHERS, but a benchmark in the form of a reference building. The proposed building must reach either the same or less than the Elemental Provisions (DTS) of the reference building’s benchmark energy heating/cooling loads to be compliant with the National Construction Code (NCC). This report option is available for all States and Territories except NSW.
A BASIX sustainability assessment is required in NSW for all residential construction over $50,000. It considers criteria such as project location, orientation, size, construction wall types, windows size and ventilation, landscaping and appliances to be used for the project. The BASIX targets for Thermal Performance and Energy were last revised by the NSW Government on the 1st July 2017.
Many smaller residential projects and alterations and addition projects in Australia require a Deemed to Satisfy DTS Energy Efficiency Report (3.12) for buildings to be compliant with the National Construction Code. This is like a tick box exercise which includes windows and glazing calculators. It is the most cost effective Energy Efficiency report and is the equivalent of a Section J report that is used in Commercial Buildings. Note: this report type is not permitted in NSW.
For the Victorians amongst us a Sustainable Management Plan (SMP) for large Class 2 Developments and a Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA) for Smaller multi dwelling projects which often include a BESS are Reports that summarise the Sustainable Design features of a new residential and non-residential development alike. These documents are required by a growing number of Councils in VIC at planning permit stage.
STORM is a sustainable design assessment tool that can be used to assess whether best practice water quality objectives have been achieved for a development site, it is typically used for projects in Victoria as part of a BESS assessment.
A BESS report is a Victorian energy assessment needed for your planning permit application which is typically required for multi dwelling residential projects.
BESS has been seen by many as a bottom up approach to managing ESD principles in design and development as the push for sustainability has come from the local councils in contrast to the State government, like NSW which has legislation enforcing the BASIX scheme statewide.
