Energy-efficient buildings are not only excellent for the well-being of nature and the planet, but such buildings offer happier and healthier spaces for your customers to thrive in.
NABERS (a simplified term for National Australian Built Environment Rating System) offers easy, reliable, measurable, and comparable sustainability data that you can utilise across almost every commercial building sector, including hotels, shopping complexes, offices, religious institutions, schools, data centres, and residential constructions such as apartments, old age homes, hostels, and boarding houses, etc.
Over the past 20 years, NABERS rating has clearly proven that “When you can measure and compare any data, the results can be managed.” Project owners and planners who adopted the NABERS system saved an average of 30-40% on their tenant’s energy bills over 10 years.
The NABERS rating system has delivered financial growth and solid returns in portfolios across commercial and relevant residential building sectors. It has facilitated corporate procurement by accurately highlighting a property’s operational efficiency and sustainability achievements.
With NABERS rating, you can precisely measure, compare, understand, and communicate your commercial property’s environmental performance while determining areas for financial savings and future improvements.
The BASIX certificate was introduced for residential properties by the NSW government to support sustainable, energy, and water-efficient buildings.
Let’s take a glance at the facts and numbers to understand the impact and success of NABERS.
Is NABERS Rating Successful In Australia?
- Since the introduction of the NABERS energy assessment and rating system in 1999, greater than $1 billion in energy costs have been reduced from bottom lines.
- A whopping 78% of the Australian subcontinent’s office space has embraced NABERS Rating.
- Over 7 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions have been saved. This enormous amount is adequate to power 93,430 homes for a year.
What Are The Best Practices To Improve Your NABERS Rating?
For Better Management Measure The Outcomes
You cannot manage the outcomes unless you start measuring the processes. If you strive to attain a better energy management rating for your buildings, you need to start from the basics. Determine the areas that can utilise the most energy. It can be your common area or your artificial heating and cooling systems.
A professional building consultant can help you determine and manage excessive energy consumption and make your NABERS assessment process easier.
Also Read: A Comprehensive Guide On BASIX Certificate
Leverage Data And Statistics
With correct data analytics and statistics, you don’t just save money on construction and future energy bills but also limit the environmental impact of your building.
For existing buildings, you can examine and understand the historical energy meter data. This method is an efficient and easy way to access your building performance.
When you analyse the energy consumption data, you can detect trends, utilisation patterns and find sources of energy waste. You’ll quickly be able to identify which areas or appliances require unusually high amounts of energy. Closing these loopholes can help you achieve a higher NABERS rating.
For new buildings, you can predict energy consumption by examining the building plan blueprint and then making necessary changes.
Let There Be Natural Light
Artificial heating and cooling systems account for around 39% of a typical commercial building’s energy budget. Therefore, it’s easy to understand why project owners and managers focus on HVAC. However, did you know lighting is also responsible for almost a quarter of energy consumption?
Replacing T8 fluorescent lights and halogen downlights with LEDs can significantly reduce your building’s total energy consumption.
LEDs can function on about 75% less energy than conventional halogen light bulbs. Additionally, the LEDs have a lifetime of 10 times longer, thus minimising replacement costs and the total number of lighting fixtures ending up in the landfill.
Additionally, provision for natural lighting during the daytime can reduce dependency on artificial lighting throughout the day, thus limiting the use of critical energy resources.
Why Are Professional NABERS Services Beneficial?
Both BASIX certificate and NABERS aim towards the construction of sustainable buildings across Australia to reduce stress on critical energy resources.
Your NABERS assessment involves various paperwork, data analysis, and interpretation. Any mistakes in the process can result in huge financial losses, delay in project movement and ultimately taint your industry reputation.
Professional NABERS accreditors and accessors have extensive experience in suggesting the best solutions and making the entire process streamlined, leaving almost no room for error.
