At last, building ministers have agreed to implement requirements for 7 Star NatHERS thermal performance in residential homes in the 2022 edition of the National Construction Code (NCC).
The new rules will help support energy demand and reduce energy costs for homeowners and renters, while achieving more than 14.1 million tonnes in carbon abatement.
New homes will need to include elements like better insulation, higher quality glazing and smarter floor plans.They will also have a new annual energy budget for major appliances including: heating and cooling, water heating, lighting, pool and spa pumps, and any on-site renewable energy generation.
The NCC will be published on 1 October 2022 and come into full effect from 1 May 2023.
The lift in star requirements is the first in more than a decade.
Here’s the ministers’ official communique on the NCC from the meeting held on Friday
The meeting was expected to be held in July, but was delayed due to the federal election.
Australian Building Codes Board chair Glenys Beauchamp said the reforms will deliver “cost-effective energy efficiency upgrades” that will “improve the comfort and health of occupants throughout the year”.
“With lower energy use, we’ll also see lower new household energy bills and lower emissions.
“NCC 2022 will provide many practical solutions to reduce household energy use, especially during peak demand periods.
“Coupled with the benefits of on-site renewables, these new homes will also support the transformation and reliability of the energy grid.”
ABCB chief executive Gary Rake said the reforms are the result of three years of development and consultation by the ABCB with stakeholders including industry, consumer groups, and energy, environment and climate advocacy associations.
“These reforms will ensure our buildings are helping us reach a low emissions future.”
Bumpy road to implementation
The ABCB will release a preview of the new energy efficiency and condensation requirements on 1 September 2022. The full and final code will be published on 1 October 2022.
States and territories will bring the majority of NCC 2022 into full effect from 1 May 2023, with some juridisdictions delaying full implementation. There will also be transition periods for specific requirements, including:
- from 1 October 2023: new livable housing requirements, new energy efficiency and condensation mitigation requirements
- from 1 September 2025: new low lead in plumbing product requirements
Until these dates, the NCC 2022 is considered voluntary. This allows time for the industry to adapt to the new requirements.
However, some states are not on board.
Naysayers
NSW, WA and SA do not support the inclusion of minimum accessibility standards in the NCC, including ramp or lift access, corridors wide enough to fit wheelchairs, and entry-level bathrooms.
The Tasmanian government announced that it does not support the NCC and will not consider implementing a compulsory 7 Star energy efficiency standards until 2025.
Tasmania’s Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs Elise Archer said: “We do not support the proposed energy efficiency changes coming into effect this year. Our clear focus is on increasing the supply of housing, and it is clear the proposed changes will impose a significant additional burden on industry through costly changes to building standards.
“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.”
Is 7 Star enough?
For some, the announcement is welcome. Community sustainability advocate group Renew led a major campaign alongside 105 organisations across the consumer, energy, health, climate, community and property sectors to lift the government’s residential energy standards.
Renew chief executive officer Dr Fiona Gray said: “This decision is years in the making. I’m proud that Renew’s Climate Resilient Homes campaign has been leading the fight.”
For others, however, it’s not enough.
Nigel Howard, principal at consultancy Clarity Environment penned a strongly-worded Spinifex (op-ed) for The Fifth Estate calling the 7 Star requirements “marginally better” than “pathetic”.
He says the rules don’t go far enough.
“Shame on you for pretending to care about the climate emergency and our children and grandchildrens’ survivable futures… but you still won’t demand net zero from new homes even when this makes them more affordable,” he says.
Alan Pears, building energy policy and regulation expert and senior industry fellow at RMIT, says it’s great to focus on new buildings – but we can achieve so much more carbon reduction and improve people’s lives if we also lift the energy performance of existing buildings.
Mr Pears told The Fifth Estate back in April that he is shocked that improving energy performance is even up for debate.
“The debate about 7 star housing is not really about the cost – it’s about the up-front cost, which impacts on the building industry’s profits and home buyers, who are pushing the 80 per cent borrowing limit before they have to take out mortgage insurance,” Mr Pears said.
“This ignores the reality that better performing homes will deliver energy savings, carbon emission reductions and improved health and comfort for 70 years, and that most of the people who will occupy the home over that time have no say in decisions made during design and construction.”
Pears also says that a shift from 2-3 stars NatHERS is worth five times in energy savings than lifting the performance from 5 to 6 Stars NatHers.
Elham Monavari, senior manager of operations transformation at the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) says that this is a huge achievement.
“While some in the sustainability movement will try and downplay this, it is a huge achievement, years in the making and involving collaboration at its core.”
Davina Rooney, chief executive at GBCA said it is a huge step forward:
“There are many benefits that will flow from adopting these new energy performance requirements in the NCC, but most importantly, it will help save lives. Between 2006 and 2017, there were 36,000 deaths in Australia associated with the heat. Cold weather accounts for 6 per cent of deaths in Australia, which is twice the rate in Sweden.
“These changes to the Code will help to reduce the energy poverty crisis Australia is walking into. We commend the jurisdictions who have committed to a one year transition period, we are happy change is on the way for Australian households.
“As we face this, and a changing climate that is generating more extreme weather variability and more serious and regular weather events, the code will lead to new Australian homes that: are more comfortable to live in, have lower energy bills, [and] are better for the environment, with carbon emissions potentially lowered nationally by up to 15 million tonnes to 2030, and 78 million tonnes to 2050.”
What’s next:
The ABCB said it is already discussing the next NCC update, with a focus on making it easier to install distributed energy resources such as solar photovoltaic energy systems, battery storage and bi-directional charging for electric vehicles.
ABCB chief executive Mr Rake said: “We’ll have a special focus on ensuring our buildings are ready to make EV charging safe and easy. We know the demand for electric vehicles is going to continue to increase, especially as households and businesses prioritise use of electricity and renewables.”
Other key elements will include:
- improving accessibility
- improving climate resilience against extreme weather events like bushfires, floods, cyclones and extreme heat
- increasing commercial building energy efficiency and moving towards net-zero energy