Green buildings and sustainable cities-news and opinions
A natHERS energy rating assessor claimed that her company has evaluated more rating tools than any other company in Australia, and she has strongly criticized the proposed reform of the national building code. It includes an observation that the level of knowledge, craftsmanship, and implementation of sustainable results will "shock" observers.
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The latest International Panel on Climate Change made it clear that the world urgently needs to reduce carbon emissions to avoid a catastrophic future. However, Tracey Cools, the founder of Efficient Living, stated at the recent CSIRO Australian Residential Energy Rating Conference that the proposed reform of the National Building Code by 2022 will make the 7-star rating for new houses built by 2030, if not completely insufficient, It will also be very gentle.
Ms. Coors said this is a continuation of housing lobbyists’ desire to business as usual and undermine energy efficiency goals.
"Nationwide, due to industry lobbying, energy efficiency in building codes was downplayed in 2016 and 2019.
"Since 2017, the BASIX team in New South Wales has not increased its target. They missed NCC 2019 and will miss NCC 2022. The goal now is to align with the NSW environmental planning policy by the end of 2022.
"Zero progress in five years is unacceptable, New South Wales."
Ms. Cools expressed the concern of more and more chorus industry experts-many of them published in The Fifth Estate-frustrated by the apparently effective resistance of vested interests to prevent meaningful improvements in energy efficiency, despite consumer complaints This paid a price.
Ms. Cools listed Western Australia as one of the worst results, in which "less regulation does not lead to better results."
Ms. Cools said that, in fact, the rise of the use of reference building verification methods that comply with NCC guidelines "opened the door to a major game of results and countless families living in extremely poor quality households."
What is this method, called VURB. Here is what a "useful" website says:
"If you want to minimize the building costs associated with energy efficiency, that is, the cost of glass or board insulation, the best method for NCC energy compliance is called using the reference building (VURB) method for verification. This method allows for more realistic Building modeling, and taking all factors into consideration. Here, the evaluator can optimize the shading, introduce shading equipment, weigh the SHGC of heat insulation and windows, and implement the best low-cost solution for your building."
Ms. Cools said that VURB has resulted in houses with 4 to 4.5 stars being considered to comply with building codes, but far below the minimum legal standards.
Ms. Cools pointed out that none of the two window manufacturers in Western Australia produced double-glazed windows, and presumably, she said, because of the current policy, it was “not necessary”.
Although the energy efficiency of double-glazed windows has increased by 30%. In New South Wales, 81% of new homes still have single-glazed windows.
Industry lobbyists have repeatedly claimed that higher sustainability ratings for new buildings will increase costs. They did this to arouse fear among politicians and the public that changes to the NCC would be unaffordable.
Ms. Coors stated in her address that this is not true.
"I checked the CoreLogic data released in August 2021. The data shows that the national average house price has risen by 18.4% in the past 12 months, while construction costs have risen by 3.9% over the same period.
"This is equivalent to an additional $80,000 in the developer's profit on the average Australian house."
Ms. Coors conveyed four messages to policymakers. The edited version is as follows:
1. Strict increase needs to occur in small incremental changes
Changing planning policies on a three-year cycle may be suitable for pipeline regulations, but given the urgency required to achieve Australia’s net zero emissions target, sustaining this cycle in a sustainable manner is outrageous.
The New South Wales BASIX team has not increased its target since 2017; they missed NCC 2019 and will miss NCC 2022. The goal now is to align with the New South Wales SEPP by the end of 2022.
Zero progress in five years is unacceptable, New South Wales.
Nationwide, due to industry lobbying, the energy efficiency in the Building Code was downplayed in 2016 and 2019.
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This is to allow the industry, especially the window industry, time to prepare for changes in the supply chain.
Victoria has always been a leader in sustainable development, while other states have a history of climate inaction. If national policy makers are not prepared for the local industry for this change, you will fail.
2. Less supervision will not lead to better results
Building codes are increasingly adopting performance-based solutions.
Therefore, we see:
This opened the door to a major game of results, with countless families living in very poor quality houses.
Western Australia is a typical example, where VURB can build 4- to 4.5-star residences that comply with building codes.
New South Wales also performed poorly, with 81% of houses still using single-layer glass, while the vast majority of houses use regular frames and do not have low-emissivity coatings.
3. The measure of success is the quality of the houses we build
All the work we do in this industry is to create a comfortable and energy-saving family, so that the family of the future can thrive.
For the NatHERS assessors at this meeting and the decision-makers who don’t spend time on construction sites, it’s important that you do this.
The level of knowledge, craftsmanship and execution of sustainable results will definitely shock you.
If the policy direction is to provide 7-star residences, you need to consider how to manage this execution outside of the application development phase.
Our university is training a large number of sustainability professionals with degrees and PDH qualifications.
These are professionals who have been trained to understand the thermal physics of buildings. However, it is difficult for us to be recognized as a professional engineer by the Australian Institute of Engineers, and we cannot obtain registration under the Construction Practitioners Act.
Policy makers, if you mandate the certification of plans for all evaluation methods (including NatHERS and VURB), the quality of your house construction will be greatly improved.
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