November 7, 2019
A recent article in The Conversation (https://theconversation.com/australias-still-building-4-in-every-5-new-houses-to-no-more-than-the-minimum-energy-standard-118820) shows that the majority of purchasers of new houses in Australia get the minimum allowable energy efficiency level for their new home. The authors reported that this “six-star minimum falls short of what is optimal in terms of environmental, economic and social outcomes. It’s also below the minimum set by many other countries.”
The software used for assessment under the NatHERS rating scheme allows purchasers to understand the energy efficiency of their new home and should provide a better market for houses that are differentiated as being better than the worst that is legal to build. However, there are few house purchasers that understand enough to ask for and get a more comfortable house that uses less energy. Builders and Energy Assessors should capitalise on the business opportunities of delivering better homes.
The second Australian Residential Energy Rating (ARER) conference will cover this and other aspects of building a better business from providing more comfortable, lower impact homes. ARER 2020 will follow on from the successful 2018 conference. It will be held in Sydney 12 and 13 May 2020.
