e n e r gy e f f i c i e n cy
IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE SIXSTAR RATING WOULD REMAIN A
MINIMUM REQUIREMENT OF
ANY NEW MODEL.
02
01
a ‘whole of house’ approach. Alongside this, the
ABCB are looking at undertaking work to improve
the drafting of the current code (Part 3.12) and
potentially provide new verification methods
to assist industry to meet the current six-star
standard.
New South Wales currently uses a ‘whole of house’
approach under its BASIX rating tool. This option
allows certain trade-offs and complementary
actions to more accurately capture the energy
used in a home, addressing fixed appliances and
renewable energy options. There will always be
minimum benchmarks for building fabric, so it is
expected that the six-star rating would remain a
minimum requirement of any new model. However,
it would allow states such as Queensland and
the Northern Territory to retain their tailored
requirements and may create the opportunity for
other states to offer this type of flexible approach.
While changes to the 2019 edition of the code
are a possibility, it appears that the focus for
residential buildings will be the 2022 edition of the
code. Changes for commercial buildings standards
will be the focus for 2019.
IMPROVING COMPLIANCE WITH
CURRENT STANDARDS
Action 32 offers a way forward that would see
government working with industry to improve what
we deliver today, using today’s standards.
HIA has outlined a view that the ABCB, along with
governments, should be focusing on providing
support for the housing industry to better
understand how to design and build six-star
homes.
HIA has put forward a number of simple examples
of areas where better education may assist
builders to deliver six-star homes, including a
focus on training and information on insulation
installation, building sealing and windows. It is
hoped these will be progressed over the next few
years.
01 Evolution Window Systems,
Seaforth, VIC.
02 The National Energy
Productivity Plan is available
for download from industry.
gov.au
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE WINDOW
INDUSTRY?
In the short term, these recommendations are unlikely
to change the requirements on energy efficient
window systems. Over the medium term, with the
renewed focus on energy efficiency, it is likely that
there will be increases to the stringency on new
buildings with the ABCB confirming increases to
commercial building performance in 2019 and a likely
increase to residential buildings in 2022.
Long term, this suggests that the performance of
window systems will become more important to
meet the overall requirements of energy efficient
housing, with increasing stringency leading to the
more common use of high performance products
such as double glazing and thermally efficient framing
systems.
Richard Hamber
Sustainability Manager, AWA
Windows Magazine Summer 2016 17