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AENEC holds the latest and Mandatory Certificate IV required as of 1st of January 2016 by NatHERS for performing all thermal comfort assessments in Australia.

 

AENEC also uses AccuRate Sustainability; the most comprehensive rating software in Australia.

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I take the pleasure in introducing you to AENEC (Australian Energy Efficiency Consulting), an Australian company servicing the building sustainability industry and BCA compliance for over 6 years. We already service a large scale of clients ranging from small architectural firms, builders and to larger architectural firms and prime building developer companies.

 

We undertake the whole process of BASIX certification; including preliminary design advice when required, full calculations for thermal comfort requirements using AccuRate Sustainability, we provide expert advice for the best combinations in order to achieve BASIX compliance for energy and water sections. So far we have 100% success rate in terms of council submissions.

 

The aim is to make developments meet the minimum performance standards by using the most economical in terms of thermal performance materials/components based on the design parameters. When needed, we will recommend adjustments of materials/components in order to achieve the desirable results, for you.

 

AENEC will provide you the best available advice for BASIX commitments as well as in regards to the NatHERS (thermal comfort simulations) and will optimise the design of your new home (or existing one), by using the latest available engineering techniques and industry standards. At AENEC we understand that the commitments on BASIX certifications can be costly, so will act on your behalf in order to achieve optimum results.

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SO Why AENEC?

 

The quality of consultation is guaranteed and you will receive the best value for you hard earned money.

 

Building costs will be kept to minimum requirements, maximum performance or anything in between. 

To provide you with all of the above we incorporate the latest developments in the building industry through membership, accreditation and CPD programs. We are fully insured for a complete piece of mind.

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BASIX in a nutshell

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The BASIX Certificate or BASIX (The Building Sustainability Index), is a NSW Government planning requirement that affects anyone submitting a DA, S96 or CC Building Application in NSW for a new house, alteration, addition, villa, townhouse, units, swimming pool and/or outdoor spa. The three aspects to BASIX are:

 

Water efficiency - nominally a reduction of water consumption by a minimum of 40% compared to a standard house (house without any water saving measures) for new houses/townhouses and by 30% compared to a standard apartment for apartments. The water usage reduction for apartments, sometimes is also at 40% depending on suburb, size of development, etc.

Water efficiency is primarily achieved via the use of rated water appliances (shower heads,   taps, cisterns), the utilization of rainwater tanks for garden watering usage and sometimes for laundry, and toilets as well as pools whenever applicable.

 

Thermal comfort - NatHERS is a national scheme although not compulsory to all states, however is compulsory in NSW. It is a scheme where dwellings are rated according to their thermal performance for summer and winter. That is achieved via the simulation of the proposed dwelling by specialty software packages such as AccuRate, Firstrate and Bers. The way this is done is the whole geometry of the subject building, including neighbouring buildings for shading, location, orientation and building constructions are inputted. All of the above are calculated thus predicting cooling and heating loads. BASIX has benchmarks for these loads mainly dependent on location and building type, however other secondary parameters are taken into consideration. Once the software produces the predicted loads, they then are compared to BASIX benchmarks. If loads are higher than allowed, mainly construction specifications (walls types, insulation levels, window types, colours etc) are altered / optimized in order to make the dwelling comply.

 

Energy efficiency - similarly to the water efficiency section, electric appliances such as water heaters, a/c, lights, and other, sometimes including solar photo-voltaic systems are specified in order to achieve 30% - 40% energy usage reduction compared to a standard dwelling. Thermal comfort section can affect the energy efficiency performance as a well, since a well performing dwelling requires little on no a/c usage, thus contributing positively to this section.

 

All of the above is combined in one document, the so called BASIX certificate and is used as a specification sheet for architects and builders for the building phase and as a checklist for building certifiers at the completion stage of the project in order for the Occupation Certificate to be issued. All information outlined in the BASIX certificate and in the HSTAR universal certificate (thermal comfort section) must be reflected 100% in the building.

 

In other states, BASIX is not applicable and reference solely to the BCA is taken into account, however for thermal the comfort, NatHERS is the only scheme available and as of May 1st 2016 the universal certification (HSTAR) will be issued by all 3 software packages.

 

BASIX & the planning system

BASIX is implemented under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. BASIX applies to all class 1a, 2 and 4 and sometimes to class 3 (in conjunction with Section J reporting) residential dwelling types and is part of the core development application process which takes place in NSW.

 

BASIX compliance

BASIX compliance is assessed online using the BASIX assessment tool. The tool checks elements of a proposed design against sustainability targets. As BASIX commitments are legally binding an appropriately qualified person should perform the assessment although some options are open to the public.

 

 

For a free quotation: info@aenec.com.au