BUILDING ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS

In reply to the Hon. SANDRA KANCK (27 February 2008).

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Police, Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning): The energy efficiency requirements for Mawson Lakes were developed well before mandatory provisions were implemented for houses. As such the early Mawson Lakes requirements were below the current mandatory requirement for a 5 star level. Homes now being built at Mawson Lakes must meet the 5 star level.

The star rating system for houses does not allow points to be gained by virtue of being close to public transport; it is based entirely on the energy required to heat and cool a house for comfortable conditions. Also, the mandatory requirements for commercial buildings do not use a star rating system but are based on the calculated energy load of the building.

The trade-off for being close to public transport is a feature of some voluntary star rating systems for commercial buildings that have a broader sustainability focus and are in no way a shortcoming of the current mandatory requirements for energy efficiency.

There are a number of star rating systems being used in the market place for various purposes in the sustainability, energy and water conservation areas and the example of the trade-off for being close to public transport illustrates how easy it is to confuse the purpose of any given star rating.

Planning SA maintains a register of people who are qualified to act as independent technical experts for house energy ratings. At present there are 42 people on that register.

It is understood that many designers and council staff have undertaken training in the use of the energy rating programs but it is not possible to provide numbers.

While some building and development companies may have in-house expertise in the use of energy rating programs, they are not able to sign off on their own buildings. They can use the in-house expertise to develop a design that will attain the required rating but confirmation and certification of the rating must be done by an independent assessor. The independence requirements on people who certify star ratings are very clear and all of the people on the Planning SA register are required to sign a Code of Practice that commits them to those requirements.

Applicants also have the choice of not getting a star rating for their home but of complying with prescriptive requirements for insulation, orientation, shading, glazing and natural ventilation that will provide a level of energy efficiency equivalent to a 5 star rating.

In his media release of 9 October 2008, Mr Owens focused his attention not on the energy efficiency of homes at Mawson Lakes, but on the performance of these buildings on very hot summer days. One of the side effects of the energy efficiency provisions is that a building will perform well for most of the year and provide substantial energy savings but on the hottest summer days there is still a tendency for people to switch on air conditioners and this can lead to high energy demands on those days. Fortunately, the air conditioning load will not be as great as for a house constructed before the current 5 star provisions were introduced but it is the sharp increase in demand that creates a problem for the electricity infrastructure. The government is investigating ways to mitigate this effect. In addition ETSA Utilities has been allocated up to $20 million dollars, by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia, to pilot measures over 2005-2010 to reduce the peak demand on its electrical network.

Under the current mandatory star rating system a maximum of 10 stars is possible at which level a house will not require any energy for heating or cooling. To attain that level requires a substantial change to the way in which the industry builds houses and in people’s expectations about house design. On the 1 May 2006 the government increased the mandatory minimum level for housing from 4 to 5 stars and as the market adjusts it will become more cost effective to increase the mandatory minimum yet further. To assist in this, the Land Management Corporation’s project at Lochiel Park is requiring a 7.5 star rating for new houses and the experience gained from this commercial project will help establish the case for further increases to the mandatory requirements.