Many Australian home-owners do not know their home’s energy rating – do you? With the new Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme now in action as of May 2024, new builds need to comply with the 7-star energy rating. This rating focuses on better energy efficiency in your home through cutting gas and electricity costs, ultimately making your home more sustainable.
We break down what a 7-star energy rating is, why it’s important, how to achieve it and what it means for the future of your home.
A 7-star energy rating refers to your home’s energy efficiency, sustainability and accessibility. Previously, the required energy star rating was six, but this was boosted to seven this year. This boost is to improve the energy efficiency of homes in Australia, along with making it more cost efficient to live in your home.
Don’t worry – you don’t have to perform this assessment yourself if you’re unsure of your rating. Energy assessors are equipped to evaluate your home and use the NatHERS accredited rating system to produce an energy rating. To get in touch with an accredited assessor, find more information on the NatHERS website to find one near you.
You might be wondering why this is important to you and your home. The energy rating for your home not only assesses your build’s impact on the environment, but also allows for an accurate representation of how comfortable your home is to live in, and how cost efficient it is to run. This rating doesn’t just apply to new builds either – every Australian home has an energy star rating.
This rating is important as it applies to many parts of your home, including sustainability, energy efficiency and accessibility. The higher your rating is, the more efficient and sustainable your home is. This means that your home’s energy star rating directly impacts the way you live in your home, including how much you pay to keep it running.
Achieving a 7-star energy rating for your home is largely based on its construction. Whilst your home can become more sustainable by using energy efficient appliances, they are not included in this assessment.
The rating conducted by NatHERS assessors takes into account the following factors:
– Orientation of the home, including the layout and placement of your home
– Both the materials and construction methods of the roof, walls, floors and windows in your home
– Ability to regulate temperature in the home, including shading from the sun, or access to passing breezes
Ultimately, this rating assesses your home’s ability to regulate its temperature with as little interference from mechanics (e.g. heating and cooling systems) as possible. The higher the star rating your home receives, the more efficient it is at regulating temperature without interference.
The 7-star energy rating will primarily impact you if you’re looking to build a new home in Australia. This doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve this rating level with an existing build, but it is not a requirement.
For new builds, it is now a requirement that your home meets the minimum 7-star rating. To make sure that your build meets this required rating, speak with an accredited NatHERS assessor to draft an energy rating report to submit with your building permit application.
With pre-designed prefab homes, the guess-work will be taken out of this assessing process, as you will know that your home meets the energy star rating requirements before being built.
If you’re looking for an energy efficient home that meets this rating, but don’t wait a long period before moving in, then Prebuilt is your answer. We are passionate about building you a sustainable home that not only complies with regulations, but works with your lifestyle. Our range of pre-designed and customisable prefab homes allow for you to live sustainably and comfortably.
Get in contact with the team at Prebuilt to learn how we can help create your prefab home today.