Page 24 - Climate Control News Oct-Nov 2020

Raising the standard
of Australian homes
CONSULTATION ENDS OCTOBER 30, 2020, ON THE NEW GREEN STAR HOMES STANDARD FOR AUSTRALIAN BUILDERS.
UNDER THE NEW standard Aus- tralian homes will require all the features like double glazed win- dows that should have been intro- duced a long time ago.
Part of the Green Building Council of Austral- ia’s Future Homes Strategy, the Standard is a key tool to help drive transformation in the residen- tial sector to create a market for healthier, more resilient, energy efficient homes.
Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) CEO, Davina Rooney, said the Standard will lift the bar on current regulatory settings and pro- poses an ambitious suite of minimum criteria.
“To achieve Green Star certification, as a mini- mum, homes will need double glazed windows and doors, air filtration and LED lighting, good access to daylight in living areas and bedrooms, sufficient renewable energy generation to sup- port the home’s operations and no fossil fuel use,” Rooney said.
The Standard is being developed collabora- tively with rigorous consultation and input from industry, consumers, builders, banks, investors and insurers to ensure it is fit for purpose.
To achieve widespread change at scale, the Standard is primarily targeted at volume home builders and large-scale residential de- velopers, from whom it has already received strong support.
Stockland, Mirvac, Metricon and Rawson Homes, along with Chatham Homes, Passive House, Landcom and Development Victoria have all committed to piloting the new draft Standard through the early access program.
The Standard enables builders to seek certi- fication for an entire standard home product line as Green Star Designed. Built homes that have been tested and are compliant with the requirements of the Standard can be Green Star Certified.
Rooney said the Standard is focused on deliv-
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