Changes to the Building Regulations
Across Australia, the energy efficiency bar has been lifted with the introduction of 6-star energy efficiency in the 2010 Building Code of Australia (BCA) and ‘Mandatory Disclosure’.
- The Building Code of Australia requires all houses and apartments to achieve a certain level of energy efficiency.
- In April 2009 the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) announced changes to the 2010 building regulations requiring new homes and major renovations to be built to a 6-star energy rating.
- Rating applies to the whole building — not individual elements or materials.
- COAG also agreed to the introduction of ‘mandatory disclosure’ for existing dwellings, meaning that a house’s energy rating must be declared when offered for sale or lease, so that prospective buyers and tenants can better judge the property’s value.
The building regulators themselves identified windows as having a critical role in lifting a dwelling’s energy rating, stating:
“With most other building elements at practical limits of thermal performance, glazing is the remaining pathway to better ratings”Source: Australian Building Codes Board
Energy Efficiency provisions Vol. 2, BC A 2010, Supporting Commentary
