Ideal if you're:
Upload your plans or project information and we'll assess your options, explain the most suitable compliance pathway, and provide a fixed-fee quote.
20,500+
Residential assessments
Architect-led
Design-aware compliance advice
12+ years
Residential compliance experience
35+ people
Coordinated national team
You do not need to determine whether VURB is suitable before getting in touch. We’ll review the dwelling, project location and current documentation before recommending whether a reference building comparison or a more direct compliance pathway makes sense.
After reviewing your project, you’ll receive:
Why project teams choose Certified Energy
Is this service right for you?
This service is designed for architects, building designers and project teams who need to confirm whether VURB is an available and proportionate alternative to a standard NatHERS or Deemed to Satisfy pathway.
Complex residential design
Consider a reference building comparison where glazing, orientation, shading, geometry or construction systems make direct NatHERS or DTS compliance difficult to resolve.
Pathway uncertainty
Clarify which residential energy compliance pathway is available and best aligned with the dwelling, jurisdiction, documentation and approval strategy.
Early design coordination
Review the pathway before glazing, shading, insulation and construction decisions become difficult to revise or approval documentation progresses too far.
Which pathway suits your project?
Many residential projects begin with a preferred compliance pathway, only to discover later that another approach would have been more suitable. Confirming the pathway early helps avoid unnecessary redesign, delays and uncertainty.
A VURB Alternative Pathway Review provides independent advice on whether a reference building comparison is appropriate for your project before detailed compliance work begins.
Not every dwelling is suited to a reference building comparison. We review your project and explain whether VURB offers genuine advantages over the available alternatives.
Projects with challenging glazing, orientation, shading or architectural layouts may benefit from a more flexible performance-based assessment.
Once the most appropriate pathway is confirmed, your design team can progress with greater confidence and a clearer compliance strategy.
Choosing the right compliance pathway
Every residential project has different design constraints, approval requirements and compliance options. Reviewing the available pathways early helps avoid unnecessary modelling, redesign and approval delays.
Send us your plans or preliminary drawings and we'll explain whether a VURB Alternative Pathway is likely to suit your project.
SEND YOUR PLANSWe assess your dwelling design, project documentation and compliance objectives to understand which residential energy pathway is most appropriate.
Where appropriate, we compare a VURB Alternative Pathway with other available compliance options, helping you understand the practical advantages and limitations of each.
Once the preferred pathway is confirmed, your architect, designer or certifier can progress with a clear compliance strategy and defined next steps.
What you'll receive
Once VURB has been confirmed as the appropriate pathway, your proposed dwelling is assessed against a compliant reference building using the coordinated project documentation.
You’ll receive clear compliance evidence, practical feedback where changes are needed and documentation that can be coordinated with your design and approval team.
Item 01
See how the proposed dwelling performs when measured against its compliant reference building.
Item 02
Receive a clear result showing whether the proposed design achieves the required comparative performance outcome.
Item 03
Where the dwelling does not initially comply, understand which fabric, glazing, shading or design changes should be investigated.
Item 04
Move forward with assessment documentation aligned with the final design and ready for coordination with your certifier or approval team.
Why Certified Energy
Choosing the right compliance pathway often influences design decisions long before documentation is complete. Our role is to provide practical, independent advice that supports architects, designers, homeowners and certifiers throughout that process.
With extensive experience across residential energy assessments and NCC compliance pathways, we help project teams select an approach that is technically appropriate, commercially practical and aligned with the design intent.
We understand both building performance and architectural design, helping compliance strategies support the project rather than constrain it.
Our team works across NatHERS, DTS, VURB and other NCC residential compliance pathways, providing advice tailored to each project's requirements.
Certified Energy contributes to the ongoing development of residential energy assessment through participation on the NatHERS National Technical Advisory Committee.
Our recommendations are based on compliance outcomes, building performance and project objectives—not product sales or predetermined solutions.
How it works
Whether you're still developing the design or preparing for approval, we begin with the information already available and guide you through the most appropriate next steps.
Step 01
Upload your architectural drawings, site information and any existing compliance documentation you already have.
Step 02
We assess your project and determine whether a VURB Alternative Pathway is appropriate or whether another residential compliance pathway is likely to be more suitable.
Step 03
Once the preferred pathway is confirmed, we define the assessment scope, required documentation and project deliverables.
Step 04
Your design team can proceed with a clearly defined compliance strategy, coordinated assessment process and documented next steps.
Start with your current plans
Send your available drawings, site information and any existing compliance advice. We will review the project and explain whether VURB or another residential pathway is likely to be more appropriate.
SEND YOUR PLANSFrequently Asked Questions
A VURB Alternative Pathway is a residential NCC compliance method that compares a proposed dwelling against a compliant reference building. It provides an alternative way of demonstrating compliance where a standard pathway may not be the most suitable option.
No. VURB is only appropriate for certain projects and jurisdictions. We review your design, project location and approval pathway before recommending whether VURB or another compliance method is likely to be the better option.
NatHERS rates the thermal performance of a dwelling, while VURB compares the proposed design with a reference building that satisfies NCC requirements. If you're unsure which pathway applies, we'll explain the differences during our project review. For a detailed comparison, visit our VURB Alternative Pathway Knowledge Hub.
Architectural drawings are ideal, but preliminary plans, site information and any existing compliance documentation are usually enough for us to begin reviewing the appropriate assessment pathway.
Yes. We regularly coordinate with architects, building designers, certifiers and other consultants to ensure the selected compliance pathway aligns with the broader project and approval process.
No. Many clients contact us because they are unsure which compliance pathway is most appropriate. We'll review your project and recommend the pathway that best suits your design and approval requirements.
Our VURB Alternative Pathway Knowledge Hub explains how the methodology works, when it can be used, how it compares with other compliance pathways and the situations where it may provide greater design flexibility.
Simply send us your available plans and project information. We'll review the documentation, discuss whether a VURB Alternative Pathway is appropriate, provide a fixed quotation and explain the next steps for your project.
