| The national energy efficiency scheme is part of an ambitious plan to make Australia’s homes and businesses more energy efficient, by improving base standards and star ratings for appliances, equipment and buildings, and by phasing out inefficient technologies. Australian, state and territory government energy ministers recently approved the parameters of the new disclosure scheme for office building energy efficiency, with Commonwealth legislation now being developed.
Improving energy efficiency is a rapid and effective method of convalescing Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. The scheme will provide a strong incentive for building owners to improve their properties by investing in cost-effective upgrades. The new scheme will require building owners must include a National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) Energy base building star rating, an assessment of the lighting energy efficiency of tenancies and some suggestions on how to improve the building’s energy efficiency.
It is proposed that the NABERS Energy accredited rating tool will initially be the sole rating tool. The NABERS Assessment Energy rating tool benchmarks actual operating energy use of the commercial office building by measuring the energy use per square meter NLA based on twelve contiguous months of metered fuel data (electricity, gas, and diesel). The NABERS rating tool awards from one star (high greenhouse impact) to five stars (low greenhouse impact) depending on the energy efficiency and greenhouse performance of the rated space. NABERS has a trained and accredited group of assessors who independently assess the rating of a building.
Exemptions will be considered for buildings with less than 12 months worth of contiguous data (i.e.. New building), or were inadequate metering or other factors preventing an accredited assessor from being able to achieve the required quality standards of a NABERS Energy assessment. Situations where it is not feasible to prepare a valid energy efficiency assessment of a particular building or tenancy will be exempted from the scheme.
The Australian Government has agreed to the new national scheme to improve the energy efficiency of commercial office buildings. Commercial office building owners will be required to provide up to date energy efficiency information when they sell or lease office space covering more than 2,000 square meters. Finally, there are some well established and experienced organizations are offering a range of methods and rating schemes to improve the efficiency to attract higher paying tenants. Additional information regarding NABERS Energy base building star ratings, please visit the following web site.
The NABERS rating tool awards from one star (high greenhouse impact) to five stars (low greenhouse impact) depending on the energy efficiency and greenhouse performance of the rated space.Are you in search of NABERS and NABERS Energy.Please visit us online http://www.beac.com.au/main.htm |
Article Details