Why would four out of every five new homes built in Australia since 2003 be an energy efficient dinosaur? The ones built before the current energy-efficient standards were mandated are even worse than those being built now. This poor trend will result in a legacy of a continent overrun with thermally unstable, energy guzzling houses. This may sound like a plot for a Blockbuster Disaster Movie but it’s happening for real in a suburb near you.
Whilst we can easily drown in a sea of information of how to build an energy efficient home, coupled with laws that have been passed mandating minimum standards of energy efficiency in all new builds, Australians, on mass, are still building to just meet the minimum standard for construction approval.
Information collected from NatHERS data advises that since 2003, only 1.5% of new homes built in Australia are built to a higher energy efficient standard of a 7.5 star energy performance rating, leaving 98.5% not realising a more achievable energy-efficient potential. That means that the majority of homes approved for construction in Australia will be thermally less comfortable to live in and will consequently consume more energy than they need to.
Does that sound good to you? It doesn’t sound good to me.
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Homes built in Australia up until 2003 had very poor energy performance because they were not built to suit the immediate climate. There are eight identified climate zones in Australia which have certain characteristics determining the best building design and building materials for the zone. For those who want homes to perform even better, there are sixty-nine sub zones inside those eight with characteristics worthy of consideration for building an even better thermally efficient home.
General topography comes into play as well but without getting too in depth, baseline home energy performance standards were introduced in 2003 to force an improvement in the energy performance of all new builds from that time onwards. NatHERS, Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme sets a standard by using one of three approved computer modelling programs.
Information including the design, layout and building materials are introduced to the modelling programs which results in an energy performance rating out of 10 stars. If your building design does not meet or exceed the minimum standard of 6 stars on an approved modelling program, your building will not be approved for construction. The average NatHERS rating of a home submitted for approval in Australia since 2016 has been 6.2 stars or just barely over the minimum standard required for building approval.
The plans of homes submitted to councils in both Tasmania and the ACT generally have higher NatHERS star ratings. This generally means that they are much more cosy and comfortable to live in requiring less auxiliary heating and cooling but unfortunately, they are only marginally better. When I say marginally better, I mean instead of the national standard of being a 6.2 star rated home, Tasmania averages as much as a 6.5 star rating whilst homes in the ACT make it all the way up to a 6.9 star rating. The ACT is the only Territory amongst all the states and territories where an energy efficiency rating on your home is required to be available before it is listed for either sale or rent. I liken that to a Roadworthy on a car. These statistics were current as of 2018 and for the ACT they were a slight improvement from 2016, that is, generally up a few tenths of a star however the average Western Australian new build home dropped from a 6.3 star rating in 2016 to a 6.0 star rating in 2018.
I see two major reasons for this happening. Number one is because continuing to do what you’ve always done will continue to deliver what you’ve always got. People building new homes traditionally have gone initially to a builder who outsources what needs to be done to make the home compliant by a registered NatHERS operator. If you have your NatHERS approved plans under your arm when you go to talk to your builder, the energy rating of your home has already been predetermined and the building plan does not need to be adjusted just to meet the minimum standards for approval. 
The last person you want to speak with in the building process is your builder. The energy performance of a building is determined way before it is ever built.
The number two reason that star ratings on new build homes are so low is because a long-term vision is not understood.
For example our home, which was owner built in 2001 but designed in 1999 achieved a 9 star rating out of the possible 9 that was available at that time. Not only is our home a lot more comfortable to live in because it’s warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, but it uses 40% less electricity than a similar home simply by its design. Did it cost a little more to build than a poorer performing house would have? Yes, but not much more. We got back any additional costs very quickly by energy saving costs and it’s a very comfortable home to live in. The longer term vision includes the energy savings over the life of the building which will be substantial. Further to that homes that have efficient star ratings of 7.5 or above both rent and sell for more in the marketplace. Generally quite a bit more. Usually higher star ratings can be achieved with very little extra building expense if done at the appropriate time. Retrofitting to improve a home’s energy efficiency is not always possible and it is frequently expensive. >>>LEARN MORE>>>
If you are building a new home, make sure you get it right the first time because, as crazy as this sounds, you don’t get a second chance to get it right the first time.
Instructional Video Real Estate
John Lynn