“If the house was designed poorly, then you have problems with energy efficiency, even when you have done everything else right,” Dr Fiess said.
“Currently, it is a minimum of 6-star energy efficiency rating and we are in a transition period from May this year to May next year with new homes to become 7-star under the National Construction Code.
“The National Construction Code is set by the Australian Building Codes Board, which is a federal government body.
“They set the code for all of Australia and then the states get to choose how they implement it.”
Victoria has chosen to implement it, by making it mandatory that all new homes meet the minimum of 7-star energy efficiency from May 1, 2024.
Dr Fiess thinks it is important to start having the conversation with your builder now if you are a potential new home buyer.
“If you think that you will be putting in your design plan for your building permit around May next year, then you need to think about how your house meets a 7-star rating, but you can also voluntarily get your house to meet 7-stars now.
“You can work with your builder and your designer to make sure you are designing a house in a way that looks at orientation and by that I mean which way is the sun coming into the house.
“Are you facing the living area to the northern side of the house so you can get a lot of nice natural lighting?
“And then your service areas like bathrooms, laundries, garages on the south and western side of the house to try and block that really hot sun that comes at the end of a summer’s day.
Dr Fiess highlights once your home has been designed with the right orientation, the next thing to look at is what your windows are made of.
“You can make sure that it is a thermally broken frame for your double glazing and thermally broken means that the window will perform better.
“The aluminium frames that come with windows, double and single glazed can actually transfer cold and heat from inside and outside the home relatively quickly because they are made of metal.
“Whereas if they are thermally broken, they have a plastic spacer, which will stop the heat transfer from inside to outside.
Dr Fiess said to consider not just double glazed windows, but windows with frames of timber or uPVC, with uPVC windows being relatively competitive in the market.
The mandatory implementation will include having a whole house assessment done, which will include fixed appliances you have in your home.
“You are talking about your heating, hot water, cooking, lighting, fridge, everything is going to be measured, whereas currently, it is not measured by the rating tool, which calculates the star rating,” Dr Fiess said.
“A 7-star house will be more comfortable to live in, will cost you less to heat and cool and it also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which is what the government in particular is looking at, at the moment.
“Reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that we have in the running of our homes is going to help support us in the future and live in a more healthy environment.
Things are different in NSW, with the building industry there having to follow BASIX requirements.
Make sure you speak to your new home builder or designer, so that your dream home will meet your local building standard for energy efficiency.
For more information about meeting the BASIX requirements, visit: https://pp.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/development-and-assessment/basix
For more information on Victorian 7-star energy efficient standard, visit: https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/for-households/7-star-energy-efficiency-building-standards
