7-Star: A Step Towards Greater Energy Efficiency in the Home

7-Star-A Step Towards Greater Energy Efficiency in the Home

From 1 May 2024, all new homes will need to implement improved energy efficiency requirements. This will see a move from 6-Star to 7-Star energy requirements out of a possible 10 stars. Alongside this change, homes will be required to achieve a whole-of-home rating of not less than 60 using the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS).

These changes come as no surprise – they have been in the works for years. However, this final iteration of the NCC changes, although a positive move for home energy efficiency, will have the biggest impact on builders and homeowners.

As a builder in Victoria, this is what you need to know.

What is the Whole-Of-Home Approach?

The whole-of-home approach calculates the maximum annual energy usage for a home’s heating and cooling, household appliances, hot water, lighting, swimming pool and spa pumps requirements, that can be offset by adding solar PV to the home.

However, to comply with the whole-of-home assessment, the home must first comply with the 7-Star Energy Rating. This creates a challenge for some builders that work with provisional sums for home appliances and homeowners that have not yet confirmed their selections. Moving forward, appliances need to be confirmed prior to the assessment, before the builder applies for a building or planning permit.

Changes that are made to appliances as a variation after the assessment is complete, may impact the rating and could result in further changes to the home.

The Aim of 7-Star Energy Efficiency Rating

The new changes to the NCC aim to move towards homes that are more energy efficient, benefiting homeowners and the environment.

• Better design and orientation of the home to take advantage of opportunities to passively heat the home in winter while shading it in summer
• Improved ceiling, wall or under-floor insulation to suit the Victorian climate
• High performance glazing (windows) to better insulate the home from heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.

No doubt these changes will offer reduced energy bills for homeowners and more comfortable living conditions, however it will come at an upfront cost.

Impacts for the Construction Industry

Volume builders may need to make some adjustments to their standard plans for projects to meet the new requirements. They will, in most cases, need to update their standard inclusions as well. This means standard appliances, solar panels, hot water systems and cooling and heating systems may need to be adjusted.

In addition, insulation and glazing to external windows may have to be upgraded in a bid to meet 7-star. This will be dependent on the home’s orientation on the block and window locations. Ultimately the orientation of the house on the block will have the biggest impact on the cost of building and whether 7-Stars can be met without substantial changes to the design.

For this reason, it is important to speak with clients about the upgrades required prior to moving forward with building application to ensure that all parties are aware of the potential costs involved.

Essentially these changes mean that future housing will become more energy efficient. But for the meantime, there are some challenges that builders and homeowners need to overcome to ensure a smooth transition into achieving a 7-Star energy efficiency rating and complying with whole-of-home assessments.

Want to Know More About 7-Star and Whole-Of-Home Changes?

HIA has a dedicated page to the changes to NCC 2022, along with many information sheets and articles on the changes these can be accessed on the website. The Australian Building Codes Board also has readily available information on the changes to NCC 2022.

If more information, read our interview with “HIA’s Peter Zagorski on NCC Changes & Challenges.”