7 stars for energy efficiency

When it comes to designing an energy-efficient home, it’s a case of the more stars the better.

But how does a new home earn its stars and who awards them?

And how many stars will new homes at Glen Iris Estate be required to have?

First, let’s take a look at NatHERS, the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme, which was introduced in 1993 and is administered by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

NatHERS Assessors currently use the house plans and building specification of a new home to input data into an accredited software tool, generating a NatHERS star rating out of 10.

This star rating is a measure of the proposed home’s thermal performance, based on its structure, orientation, design and materials. The higher the star rating, the less energy needed to heat and cool the home to keep it comfortable.

Buildings with good insulation and solar passive design, for example, can reduce reliance on artificial heating and cooling. Heating and cooling is responsible for the majority of the average Australian household’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Going above and beyond

Because we believe energy efficiency is a big part of a sustainable housing future, under Design Guidelines to be implemented by the developers, new homes at Glen Iris Estate will be required to have a minimum 7-star NatHERS rating. That’s higher than the minimum 6-star rating required in most parts of Australia for detached homes.

Chances are, if you're building a new home, you’ll already want to make great design choices to improve energy efficiency and meet building code requirements.

Like NatHERS, we believe in the benefits of good design and increasing the thermal performance of homes, as this can often be achieved with no or little additional construction cost.

With a 7-star home design, homeowners not only look forward to achieving lower energy bills, but also enjoying a home that is more comfortable and resilient to climate change.

A minimum 7-star NatHERS Energy Efficiency rating is just one of the specific sustainability initiatives included in the plan for the new Glen Iris Estate.