MMJ Town Planning and Advisory specialise in the coordination and facilitation of planning and Development Applications (DA) throughout New South Wales.
This requires hands-on engagement and management of sub-consultants who specialise in a range of disciplines to address the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a proposal.
One of the Specialist sub-consultants we work with include Ecologically Sustainable Development Consultants that assess a development to improve the total quality of life, now and in the future, to maintain the ecological processes on which life depends. This principle is applied through Section J, Volume 1 and Part 3.12, Volume 2 of the National Construction Code (NCC). NSW building regulations pertaining to the energy efficiency of residential buildings are applied through BASIX Certification.
The Building Sustainability Index (BASIX) aims to deliver equitable, effective water and greenhouse gas reductions across the state. BASIX is one of the strongest sustainable planning measures undertaken in Australia and is implemented under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. BASIX applies to all residential dwelling types and is part of the DA process in NSW.
BASIX was introduced on 1 July 2004 and has reduced potable water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions for new homes built in NSW. The last notable change was introduced in 2017 which increased energy targets and thermal comfort stringency for heating and cooling.
BASIX thermal performance standards are designed to limit the amount of heating needed in winter and cooling in summer referred to as heating and cooling caps.
BASIX thermal performance standards are developed using the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) to estimate the amount of energy needed to heat and cool a home. The NatHERS model is based on past meteorological records and has been updated to cover weather data up to the year 2015. It does not include future climate projections.
The total amount of heating and cooling needed for one home can then be compared to another using the NatHERS scale of 1-10 stars.
Homes built to the current BASIX standard range between 5.5 and 6 star NatHERS on average. The new standards will increase to 7 stars (the same thermal performance as proposed for the NCC).
The new energy efficiency performance requirements proposed for the NCC are quantified in terms of energy value or net cost to society. The BASIX energy standards continue to measure using carbon emissions.
The BASIX standards to build more comfortable homes, cut energy costs and contribute to a target of net zero homes by 2050. This is part of the Trajectory for Low Energy Buildings, a national plan that aims to achieve zero energy and carbon-ready buildings.
What do the new standards mean:
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Energy benefits — This is the most certain measure of benefits available and includes the aggregated value of direct energy savings from reduced energy consumption by the sample of dwellings modelled and deferred network investment for gas and electricity due to reductions in gas usage and peak electricity demand.
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Benefits from reduced carbon emissions — Carbon emissions represent a cost to society, and reducing these emissions represents a benefit. However, since the removal of Australia’s carbon pricing mechanism in 2014, there is no universally agreed transparent price which can be assigned to these emissions.
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Health benefits from reduced electricity and gas generation. While evident that electricity generated from fossil fuels produces air pollution that damages health, and that reducing these emissions represents a benefit, these benefits are regarded as highly uncertain and speculative and should be interpreted as an indicative potential value of the wellbeing that could be generated through energy efficiency upgrades. The dollar value of these benefits is unknown, but is expected, to be of the same magnitude as our estimates.
Additional changes within the BASIX system include:
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Incorporating the NatHERS whole-of-home calculation to align with the national requirements planned in the NCC, including how the number of occupants is estimated.
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Assuming installation of energy-efficient lighting (such as LEDs) in houses and apartments.
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Updating the default efficiency settings of larger appliances.
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Removing star rating selections of fridges and washing machines in apartments to:
o Ensure that building designers are focused on improving building façade and fixed energy systems to satisfy BASIX energy standards.
o Reduce waste if occupants move into new units with their own fridge and washing machine.
Users can continue to select star ratings of dishwashers and clothes dryers, as occupants often rely on these appliances to be installed in a new unit.
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For apartment buildings:
o Lift inputs and calculations will be revised to include lift banks and express zones. Tempered air supply will be an available option for the ventilation of lift lobbies and corridors. This is in addition to the current supply, exhaust, and air conditioning options.
o Calculations to estimate energy consumption from central heat pump hot water systems with gas boosters will be revised to improve consistency with other available options.
A new online BASIX Materials index will calculate and report on the embodied emissions of a home by estimating the volume of varied materials used in the construction and applying the emissions factors for the materials.
The emissions factors represent the embodied emissions from the production of each building material. Default factors for embodied emissions of materials are based on the well-recognised EPiC database.
